


light a match and all i'll see is you

by namguk00



Category: BLACKPINK (Band), LOONA (Korea Band), TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blood, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, M/M, Minor Violence, No Beta read we die like men, Possessive Behavior, Self-Harm, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:08:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 128,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28421481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/namguk00/pseuds/namguk00
Summary: A strange vine-covered building that looked abandoned but certainly wasn't abandoned was the last thing Jungkook expected to find in the woods. Especially a strange vine-covered building occupied by people with superpowers.He certainly didn't expect to find a strange man with an addictive personality and beautiful hands.'"I’ve never seen you before,' they spoke, and it clicked that this must be Yoongi.Yoongi, the one who was screaming in the corner about not being Yoongi."
Relationships: Choi Soobin/Huening Kai, Jeon Jungkook/Min Yoongi | Suga, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Kim Namjoon | RM, Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin, Lalisa Manoban | Lisa/Park Chaeyoung | Rosé
Kudos: 28





	1. 001

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Light a Match and All I'll See is You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4175058) by [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account). 



> I have had this in my docs for MONTHS debating on whether or not to post it but I've finally been peer pressured into doing so, so... buckle up everyone.

Jungkook was an idiot.

He hadn’t planned on spending his Saturday night running away from two very scary looking large men - he was sure nobody planned on doing that. Who wanted to be chased by two very scary looking large men on a Saturday night? Certainly not Jeon Jungkook.

Jungkook was an idiot because he had left his apartment late that afternoon to go to the music store in town because he just had to look at the fancy electric guitar that he knew he would never be able to afford, the one that hung on the wall in the back coated in a sleek blue finish, the one that Jungkook wanted to play so badly. Jungkook was an idiot because he had been in such a rush to see this stupid expensive guitar he totally forgot to lock his door. Jungkook was an idiot because he walked into his house to find two very scary looking large men sitting on his cheap, ripped couch, smoking what was certainly not a normal cigarette, and all he had said was “I wasn’t expecting company.”

Jungkook was an idiot for being a stupid, naive young adult wanting to defy his parents by getting involved in something he really shouldn’t have gotten involved in. Jungkook ran drugs once. Jungkook hauled drugs from one end of Korea to the other once. He thought he had escaped from that life five years later.

Jungkook was an idiot for thinking that.

So now Jungkook was running down alleyways and shoving trash cans and whatever else he could find behind him to block the path, jumping every time he heard yelling or a gunshot. He was shimmying between cars and jaywalking across streets and all he could think was  _ I am so so so screwed I am going to die why did I not lock my door I am an idiot I’m going to die. _

He was tired and his feet hurt and he wanted to stop but he kept going because he was scared for his life and Jungkook was an idiot and couldn’t go back home. He ran faster than he had ever run, adrenaline coursing through his veins as he left the outskirts of the city and darted into a forest he had never paid any attention to. How long had those stupid trees been growing out of the ground? How long had this stupid forest been right next to the city? Jungkook couldn’t tell you.

It was dark and he had to focus on not tripping over tree roots or running into poisonous plants as well as not getting killed. His breathing was too loud and his eyes weren’t working properly. What had he done wrong? How had they found him?

Jungkook prayed there were only two very scary looking large men and not others waiting for him in this dark something-out-of-a-horror-movie forest. He didn’t stop until he reached what looked to be an abandoned building. Jungkook was confused as to why it sat in the middle of this forest, covered in vines and God knows what else when there was nothing else around.

He figured it was God telling him to “get inside and hide before you get killed.”

So Jungkook did just that. He rested a hand on the rough finishing of the building and felt his way around to a part that was almost completely submerged in the ground, complete with equally vine-covered steps to a metal door. Jungkook bit his lip as he tugged on the door handle, almost fainting with relief when it opened. He figured it would be just his luck to have it not open, and instead of being killed by thugs, he’d get eaten by some animal making loud noises in the dark.

It was pitch black when he stepped inside. The heavy door slammed shut loudly, causing an already scared Jungkook to jump. He really wished he would have grabbed a lighter, a flashlight, his cell phone, anything because it was really dark and Jungkook did not like that one bit.

He felt his way around the room, trying to figure out what it was or had been. The walls were cool and slick, like the same material as the door, and he was surprised when he felt cold air on his face. Did this place have working air conditioning? How long ago did it go under?

Jungkook’s already uneven breath became more uneven, if possible.

And he really should have been paying attention to his surroundings when a fist hit him square in the nose, completely knocking him out cold.

\---

Jungkook hurt everywhere.

His eyes were still shut, but he could feel his aching body. His nose hurt, first off, but his arms and legs hurt as well. And he felt cold.

Jungkook attempted to move an arm but was stopped short by something digging into his wrist. His eyes shot open.

His mind was suddenly flooded with thoughts, the loudest ones being  _ no no no no no no _ . This was the end of Jeon Jungkook. He was going to die alone in this weird building covered in vines that he thought was abandoned and was definitely not abandoned. Maybe those two very scary looking large men had actually been several very scary looking large men and this building was a trap. A trap Jungkook had walked right into.

Jungkook was an idiot.

He craned his neck to see the outline of a door, a strip of light coming from underneath. The room itself was the same slick metal he had felt before; the floor was the same as well. He wondered if this place had used to be a prison. It wouldn’t be surprising, considering the room had no windows.

Jungkook attempted to move again - this time a leg. But nope, his legs were zip-tied around his ankles and he could feel where they had been rubbed raw. He wondered what time it was. He wondered how long he had been unconscious.

After five more minutes of useless struggling, Jungkook let out a defeated sigh. He was so screwed.

He heard footsteps then; Jungkook didn’t even dare to breathe as the noise got louder.

Then they stopped, right in front of his door.

Jungkook didn’t want to look. This was the end.

The door opened with a loud creak and light flooded the room, causing Jungkook to squint and duck his head. He struggled to get out again. The shadow of the figure appeared on the wall in front of Jungkook, along with the whisper of a faint ringing noise in his right ear. He shook his head, attempting to get rid of it, but nothing happened. It was almost as if a fly was making a home in his head.

The minute the door slammed shut and the room was submerged in darkness, the figure talked.

“So you’re the fucker that tried to steal from us, huh?” The room once again exploded with light as the man pulled the chain of a single lightbulb. Cliche, but Jungkook had to admit: it added to the effect.

The man was wearing a jean jacket and grey pants, his short hair a soft brown and his face pointed. Not very intimidating, but there was something...off about this guy.

“I wasn’t trying to steal anything,” Jungkook started, surprised at how raw his voice sounded. He attempted to clear it before continuing, “The door was unlocked and I let myself in. I thought it was abandoned.” The ringing in Jungkook’s ear seemed to increase in volume. He winced.

“Yeah buddy, I don’t think so. You see, you chose the wrong place to break into.” The man took a step closer towards Jungkook, and he tried to refrain from pushing himself farther down into the chair. “The people here can do a lot more than the average shiner and broken nose.” He gestured to his own face, which instantly let Jungkook know that his face was a broken, bloody, purple and blue mess, which you know, he sort of already assumed that was the case. “You’re only human,” The man leaned down until he was inches away from Jungkook’s face, his breath warm against Jungkook’s cheek. He wiggled in his chair, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. “And I’m a god.”

And the ringing in Jungkook’s ear exploded, a thumping squeal that made his brain pound against his skull, and he couldn’t help but let out a yelp in pain. He didn’t know how the guy was doing this, but all he did know was that he wanted it to stop.

“Please,” Jungkook’s voice was coming out in ragged breaths and he knew he sounded pathetic. “Please stop.”

The man’s laugh was loud and bitter. “Why should I stop? You’re obviously an idiot.”

Finally. Something Jungkook could agree with.

The ringing increased until Jungkook honestly thought his brain was going to explode inside his head. It didn’t sound like a very pleasant way to die.

“Hoseok!” a new voice entered the mix, one that sounded like a slightly older man who thought he knew everything. Surprisingly, the voice sounded comforting. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” It was funny, Jungkook hadn’t even noticed the door opening.

Hoseok seemed to shrink in his spot. “I was just messing with the guy, he’s a criminal, I was just teaching him a lesson.”

There was a brief moment of silence before the older man was sighing. “Get out.”

“But Jin-”

“I said get out!”

Hoseok shoved his hands in his pockets and sulked out the door. Jungkook watched him leave, thankful the ringing was back to the annoying buzz at the back of his head. He locked eyes with the black-haired man clad in a hoodie and jeans, his face full of sympathy.

“Thank you,” Jungkook breathed, leaning back in his chair.

“Don’t thank me yet.” the door banged shut and once again Jungkook was by himself, scared out of his mind.

At least the light was on.

\---

Jungkook focused on his breathing as the minutes ticked by. What he didn’t focus on was the fact that he really had to pee and his stomach was growling because he hadn’t eaten since eleven o’clock yesterday. Instead, he tried to wrap his mind around what Hoseok had said about the people here being able to hurt him more than the average one. About Jungkook being human and Hoseok being a god. He had to have been screwing around right? Hoseok had to be human. What else could he be? An alien?

“Too many Marvel movies,” Jungkook muttered as he attempted to come up with another theory. Only that didn’t last long because the door was being thrown open and another guy was entering the room. Jungkook prayed this guy didn’t try to melt his brain.

The guy was about the same height as Jungkook, but had dark brown eyes in a steely death gaze and had a permanent scowl on his face. His curly dark hair was short in the front and covered the back of his neck, similar to a mullet, and he looked like someone that could beat the living daylights out of him in one hit. When he raised his hand to rub his chin, Jungkook noticed blood on his knuckles. Was this the guy that had knocked him out?

“Uh, Hi.” Jungkook tried to make himself sit up straighter than before, to show this guy he was not afraid (Even though Jungkook was more afraid of this guy than he had been of Hoseok.) “I’d wave but I’m a little tied up at the moment.”

The mullet guy didn’t hesitate to punch Jungkook in the jaw.

“Alright then,” Jungkook replied to silence, moving his now extremely aching jaw around. “No puns. Got it.”

“I’m gonna be as straightforward with you as your simple mind can handle. You answer my questions and you don’t get hurt. You act like a smart ass and say something stupid like that again, I won’t hesitate to do something even worse to you.” He leaned closer to Jungkook’s face, close enough that Jungkook could see the scars on his skin. He wondered if this guy had ever killed anyone. “And I can do a hell of a lot worse. Got it?”

Jungkook nodded his head. He could feel his leg shaking but did not attempt to stop it.

“Who sent you here?” Jungkook blinked.

“No one sent me here.” The mullet guy clenched his jaw and nodded his head.

“Alright, whatever you say.” Suddenly Jungkook’s left arm exploded with pain like his bones were cracking and shifting under his skin. He screamed. “I’m gonna ask one last time. Who sent you here?”

“No one,” Jungkook managed to spit out in a sputtered breath. His eyes were watering and he just wanted it to stop. This pain was a million times worse than the one Hoseok had caused. “Running...away...s-saw...this...p-place...” Jungkook let out another scream and the pain subsided. He blinked back another set of tears.

“Alright, start over. Running away from who?” Mullet guy crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

Jungkook took a few seconds to catch his breath, trying his hardest to not take too much time and piss the guy off. He had no clue how the guy was doing this and he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to know.

“Hurry up before I rip your fucking arm in half.”

Jungkook started talking. “Five years ago I got caught up in some bad business and it was only once but I tried to get away and I guess I failed at that so I was running away from these two extremely large terrifying men quite like yourself, not that you’re large, or terrifying, no, you’re just a normal average guy -”

“Get with the program. And for the love of God, slow down.”

Jungkook took a breath. “I was trying to get away from them and I happened to find this strange building submerged in the ground covered in vegetation and I figured, ‘Hey, what a good place to hide and avoid getting murdered,’ so I pulled on the door and it was unlocked so I went in. I wasn’t sent by anyone, I wasn’t trying to steal or blow your cover, I was only trying to avoid getting killed. I’m sorry.” The mullet guy was silent and Jungkook debated on whether or not he should beg the guy not to kill him yet.

Finally, after what seemed like years of silence, he spoke. “The door was unlocked?”

“The door was unlocked.” Jungkook closed his eyes, afraid of the man’s reaction to those four words. He prayed he hadn’t said the wrong thing.

An extremely loud noise sent Jungkook jolting in his seat, and he watched in horror as a crack spider-webbed across the cell walls and crisscrossed through the floor. Mullet guy stood with his fists clenched, wearing a look that could kill.

“Fucking Chaeyoung is dead. I’m going to kill her myself. She doesn’t even need to use the fucking door. But she does it anyway! Why? ‘Because I need to make sure my sister gets out ok!’ Fuck your sister!” He continued muttering to himself and Jungkook stared in confusion. What the hell had just happened?

The mullet guy pulled a knife from his pocket and Jungkook was sure his blood pressure shot through the roof.  _ DANGER DANGER _ was flashing in his brain along with red lights and he resisted the urge to start bawling like a little kid. Eyes squeezed shut, he felt the guy slide the knife under his zip ties and split them one by one. When he finished, Jungkook opened his eyes.

“What are you doing?” Jungkook asked, his voice cracking at the end.

Jungkook was an idiot.

“Well I’m assuming you probably have to piss or something, considering it’s almost 8 am and you’ve been here since ten last night.” Jungkook’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t realized he had been here that long! “And we can get you some food. They can hear your fucking stomach in China for Christ’s sake.” He paused briefly. “And kid, calm down. I can hear your heart beating out of your chest. Danger is over now, for you at least. Don’t know if I can say the same for Chae.” He rubbed at his eyes with the heel of his hand. “Fucking idiot.”

Jungkook didn’t attempt to move; he knew that if he did he would break down into tears from the amount of pain he was in. Come to think of it, he was surprised he hadn’t peed himself. “I think, that, uh, you uhm, broke my arm.”

Mullet guy sighed loudly. “I’ll go find Jin. Stay there.” Jungkook watched him leave, the guy still muttering to himself about Chae being a moron. Jungkook wondered what Chae looked like.

Jungkook also wondered if every single person in this place was going to break a part of him.

Minutes later the mullet guy was back with the older tall guy who Jungkook immediately connected as Jin. He wondered what this guy was going to do to him. Boil his blood with his mind? Freeze his arm and chop it off with an ax? Cut his tongue out?

Jin interrupted Jungkook’s thoughts with a sigh. He ran a hand through his hair as he inspected the room and the broken brunette sitting in the middle. “Tough time huh?”

The mullet guy grunted. “Just fix him. We have stuff to do.”

“Very well,” Jin replied, crouching down next to Jungkook’s chair. He pointed towards Jungkook’s arm. “I’m going to put my hand on the place where it’s broken, ok? It’s going to hurt for a few seconds but then it should feel alright.”

“Are you a doctor?” Jungkook asked bluntly. He wasn’t sure why he asked that when the guy didn’t have any tools or anything.

Jin chuckled softly. “You could say that I guess. May I?” He gestured towards Jungkook’s very obviously broken left arm and Jungkook nodded. He wasn’t sure what this guy was going to do.

The minute Jin’s fingers brushed Jungkook’s broken bone he let out a hiss of pain, and then he felt nothing. It felt like he didn’t even have an arm like it was floating away in space. Then Jin’s other hand was gently pressing on Jungkook’s broken nose and the same sensation followed. Jungkook stared at Jin, dumbfounded. He didn’t understand what was going on. First, a guy who could make someone’s brain explode, then a guy who could shatter bones and run cracks up walls, and now a guy who could heal injuries with direct contact. What had Jungkook gotten himself into?

“Done! You’re good as new.” Jin declared minutes later. He stood up, wiped Jungkook’s blood on his jeans, and offered Jungkook himself a hand. Jungkook graciously accepted.

“Thank you,” Jungkook said quietly, still confused out of his mind.

“Welcome!” Jin grinned. “Take a breather, Jungkook. You don’t need to be so anxious and full of fear. People will be kind to you here.”

“How do you know my name?” Jungkook asked, but by the time he finished his sentence, Jin had already left the room. Jungkook looked over at the mullet guy, who raised an eyebrow.

“Humans are such idiots.” He said with a sigh.

Jungkook agreed.

“Alright, let’s go.” He waved Jungkook over with a hand and Jungkook followed, not wanting to piss this guy off again. He pulled a zip tie from his pocket and pulled Jungkook’s wrists behind him. Jungkook winced at the tightness before he was getting shoved out the door. He tried to avoid looking around as he was led down the hallway, but he couldn’t help it. There were people there, some chatting, but most were staring holes into Jungkook. He never had liked the attention.

Then Mullet Guy was shoving him roughly into a wall, snipping away his constraints and shoving him into a restroom. He heard a lock click behind him.

Great. Just frickin’ fantastic.

Jungkook sighed as he inspected the bathroom. No windows, no way out. He was stuck.

But at least there was a toilet. Jungkook really had to pee.

When he finished his business, he stared at himself in the mirror. Jin hadn’t healed his black eye or the thick bags that showed Jungkook didn’t sleep much. He hoped it made him look tough.

Jungkook wished he would have thought to grab a hat before taking off into the woods. His brown mop with turquoise dyed ends was a mess. 

“Hurry the fuck up! We don’t have all day for you to fuck around in the bathroom!” Mullet guy called from the other side. He yanked the door open and Jungkook turned to face him, holding out his wrists. Without changing his facial expression, he said completely monotone “take me away officer.”

He saw a flicker of amusement in the mullet guy’s eyes.

Once again Jungkook started getting shoved down the hallway - this time a different hallway. He tried to memorize where they were going, in case he could manage to find a way to escape.

He hoped that would be soon.

“So do I get to know your name or do I have to keep calling you Mullet Guy in my head?” Mullet guy grunted.

“That’s none of your fucking business.”

Jungkook clucked his tongue. “Alright then.”

“I should break your fucking neck smartass,” he said with a twinge of anger in his voice. Jungkook’s breathing hitched. He needed to stop being so free with his words. That had always earned his scars back during his time in the drug business.

The hallway opened up to a wide room complete with a kitchen and several tables scattered around, almost like a school cafeteria. There were a lot of people in this room, all chatting and eating. He caught sight of a guy with yellow hair laughing, and at another table a guy with sunglasses on waving his hands about. They looked at home.

Jungkook liked that.

Mullet guy shoved him down at an empty table. “I’ll be right back. You try to run and I won’t hesitate to break every bone in your body. Got it?” Jungkook nodded his head. “Good.”

Jungkook watched him go over to one of the kitchen counters and grab a plate. He dumped something on it from a pan sitting on the stove and walked back over to where Jungkook was sitting. It landed with a plop on the table in front of Jungkook.

Eggs. A lot of eggs.

Jungkook’s mouth watered. He stared at it like he hadn’t eaten in days.

“Eat quickly so I can put you back in that cell.” Mullet guy glared at him. Jungkook lifted his hands slightly.

“Can you cut these maybe?”

He sighed, but reached over with his pocket knife and flicked it upwards with one solid motion, splitting the tie in half. Jungkook nodded and started eating his eggs with his hands. He shoveled them into his mouth quickly and was about halfway done when a short guy with dyed blonde hair sat across from him. He was wearing a sweater and had the sleeves pulled over his hands. He also had the nicest smile Jungkook was pretty sure he had ever seen on his face.

"Hi, Taehyung!”

_ Taehyung _ , Jungkook repeated in his head as Taehyung cursed loudly. “Son of a bitch!” Jungkook couldn’t help but smirk.

The blonde guy ignored Taehyung and turned towards Jungkook. “Who’s your friend? No. Not a friend. ‘Prisoner.’” He put air quotes around the word prisoner and rolled his eyes. “He’s human.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” the words were out of Jungkook’s mouth before he could comprehend what exactly he had just said. Taehyung and the blonde guy stared at him.

“You haven’t told him yet?” The blonde guy said worriedly, a sleeve covered hand rising to his lips. Taehyung sighed.

“I figured he realized something was up. Forgot he was an idiot though.”

Jungkook shrugged. “I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff. Today beats everything I’ve previously seen. My name’s Jungkook by the way. Nice to meet you.” he held out his hand and the blonde guy shook it firmly.

“I’m Jimin.” he paused, his eyes flickering around the room. “We’re different. Freaks I guess.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes. “We aren’t freaks. We’re better than the average human is all. ‘Cause we can do things and shit.”

“Oh.” Jungkook replied, nodding his head but not really understanding what ‘Cause we can do things and shit’ meant exactly.

“You saw what Tae can do I assume?” Jimin grinned. “I think it’s pretty cool. It’s not pretty cool when he terrorizes the shit out of some poor human kid though.”

“Whatever,” Tae muttered under his breath.

“He does cool earthquake stuff. He could destroy an entire city with a wave of his hand.”

“That’s cool,” Jungkook said, but it wasn’t what he was thinking. What he was thinking was  _ Wow that's pretty freaking terrifying _ . “What can you do?” Jungkook figured the guy could make butterflies and flowers appear out of nowhere with how optimistic he was.

Jimin’s smile grew even bigger. He tugged on the sleeve of a passing stranger, a young-looking girl with a light-brown bob and pretty eyes. “Yeojin, can you get Jungkook and me a drink?” The stranger, Yeojin, nodded her head.

“You got it, I’ll do that right now.” then she was practically running to the kitchen, and Jimin was turning back around to reveal that his eyes were glowing bright blue.

Jungkook was attempting not to freak out.

“Power of persuasion,” Jimin said, crossing his arms across his chest. Tae snorted.

“Whatever dude. You think you’re so cool because you can ask and somebody will do it. Anyone can do that.” Tae shifted his body towards Yeojin who was pulling soda out of the fridge. “Hey, Yeojin! Can you grab me one too?”

“You got legs, do it yourself!” Yeojin yelled back, causing Jimin to burst into laughter and Tae to start pouting. Jungkook bit his tongue.

“Yeah Tae. Anyone can do that.” Jimin smirked and Tae muttered something under his breath. “Let me take care of Jungkook.”

Tae raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so.”

“Please! I’ll take him off your hands! He doesn’t need to be treated like a criminal. He isn’t one.” Jungkook agreed with that statement, but he wasn’t about to say anything about it.

After a few seconds of staring at one another, Tae sighed. “Alright. Whatever. Fine. Do whatever you want with him.” There was a flash of blonde, and Tae was gone, yelling after “Chae, the fucking idiot who left the door unlocked.”

Jimin smiled at Jungkook as soon as Tae left.

“Did you use your power right there?” Jungkook asked. His answer was delayed for Yeojin was handing them the drinks Jimin had asked for, and Jimin was popping the tab on his soda, a smug look on his face. He took a long drink before answering Jungkook’s question.

“I don’t have to use my powers on Tae because he loves me.”

Jungkook’s jaw dropped and he closed it right away because that was rude and Jungkook did not want to piss off these people with superpowers who could kill him. He realized that if Jimin told Jungkook to go kill himself, Jungkook would probably pull out one of the kitchen knives and slit his throat right then and there.

And that scared the shit out of Jungkook.

“Tae likes to come across as scary and badass, but he’s actually a giant teddy bear. Once you get to know him he’ll follow you around like a puppy. The guy followed me around for weeks before I finally agreed to go on a date with him.” Jimin rolled his eyes. “Tae’s a good guy, trust me.” He opened his mouth like he had more to say, but a blood-curdling scream erupted from far down the hallway that sent shivers down Jungkook’s spine.

“Oh shit,” Jimin whispered, his chair scraping the floor loudly as he stood up. Jungkook copied him, unsure of what was going on. Everybody in the dining area was left in a rush down the hallway. Jimin grabbed Jungkook’s hand and started pulling him down the hall with the rest of the crowd. “Stay close to me,” he said firmly, all the friendliness in his voice gone.

“What’s going on?” Jungkook said, his eyes darting in every direction possible. He could feel his heart getting ready to beat out of his chest.

“Yoongi is not well,” Jimin murmured as they rushed farther down the hallway until they were turning a corner onto incoming commotion. Jungkook spotted Tae.

“I need Kai, Hobi, and Olivia right now!” He was yelling, pushing past the people in the crowd. Jungkook maneuvered his way through as well, pushing himself up against the wall. He spotted a body hunched over in the corner, his hands pushed over his ears and his body shaking.

What was going on?

“Kai, do your thing.” Tae was throwing commands, and Jungkook realized that this was a serious matter. Something was very, very, very wrong.

A very tall and startlingly young guy with wavy brown hair pushed out of the crowd. Hueningkai stood still, and darkness started to form around his back like a pair of wings. Suddenly, the hallway was dropping quickly in temperature and thick fog-like darkness was clouding Jungkook’s vision. He couldn’t even see his hand two inches in front of him.

“Hoseok!” Tae’s voice boomed over the darkness and the ringing Jungkook despised was back. It wasn’t too terrible, but he figured for someone else it was. “Yoongi, we need you to stay calm. Everything is going to be alright.”

“My name...is...NOT YOONGI!” a voice screamed from the darkness, and Jungkook was shaking. He was shivering and terrified beyond belief.

Then there was a pair of cruel gold eyes staring directly at him.

Jungkook couldn’t see the body. He couldn’t see the outline of this person’s face, or mouth, or anything.

Just their eyes.

“I’ve never seen you before,” they spoke, and it clicked that this must be Yoongi.

Yoongi, the one who was screaming in the corner about not being Yoongi.

His voice was crackly, and it was different from any other voice Jungkook had ever heard. He continued speaking. “All this nonsense they try with, the frequency and darkness shit, it’s a bit overkill, don’t you think? I can see through this facade.” Jungkook could feel the eyes looking him up and down. “You’re a human. A pretty decent looking one at that. No, even better. I’d fuck you.” He, more like an “it” if he really thought about it, let out a cackling dead-cat laugh that made Jungkook shiver all over again. “Yoongi hasn’t let me see humans since I killed hundreds of them three years ago.” It laughed again.

Jungkook was pretty sure this was the evilest thing he had ever come in contact with.

“Their deaths were painless, don’t worry. I just reach out and touch them. Simple as that. I could make it a thousand times worse, but I don’t see the hassle. Why would I want to get blood on my hands? Human blood is one of the most filthy things in the world you know.

“The police were so certain it was some cunning thief murdering for sport. But it’s much more than that. I know the thoughts and feelings of all these people. I can feel it when I’m holding them and they’re dying in my hands.” Jungkook felt sick to his stomach.

And then he - it - started speaking in a singsongy voice, almost like it was doing spoken word poetry. It was slow and off tune, like a broken music box playing a child’s lullaby, cracked and creepy.

“ _ A to the G to the U to the S-T-D…” _

There was a sudden flash of white-hot electricity, and it was falling to the ground, the darkness evaporating in clumps around the body.

Jungkook couldn’t breathe. Jungkook couldn’t feel. Jungkook didn’t know where he was or who he was or what was happening.

He was unconscious before he hit the tiled floor.


	2. 002

Jungkook felt like he was floating on a cloud.

He couldn’t feel his body, and it made him wonder if he was dead, or even worse: a ghost. Gold spots started to cloud his current eyes squeezed shut view where the light was flooding in, and somebody was saying his name.

“Jungkook!”

Jungkook’s eyes fluttered open and he sat up with a gasp for air, causing his head to spin. He began to feel nauseous as Jin pushed him back down in bed.

“Don’t kill yourself already. It’s only your second day here.” He was chuckling as he reached over to place a palm on the side of Jungkook’s head. Immediate relief began settling throughout Jungkook’s body and he realized that having Jin around was always going to be a plus side.

“What happened?” Jungkook asked drowsily as he looked around the room. It looked homey and lived in - clothes were laid over a recliner in the corner and there were posters plastered on the walls. But then Jungkook realized he didn’t need an answer because oh my god he remembered.

Cruel golden eyes and broken music box creepy and Yoongi Yoongi Yoongi.

Jungkook remembered.

“You passed out after a rather terrifying experience, so I don’t blame you for that. The only problem is, Agust D didn’t touch you, and he always makes a jump at killing someone. So what did you do?”

Jungkook stared, dumbfounded. He figured he was probably going to be doing that a lot because everyone in this place was so vague about everything. “You guys call him Agust D?”

“Well, just Yoongi’s, er, other side. The guy has a split personality and it’s very very dark. So the other guy is called Agust D yeah.”

Jungkook blinked. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Just call him the other guy. Or his name.”

“Yeah, and you saw how nicely he reacted when we called him Yoongi. It’s not Yoongi. It’s a sex-driven supervillain that can do more damage than any of us with the blink of an eye. He’s cunning and cruel, and he doesn’t care about anything but himself.”

“Why do you keep a crazy supervillain in your home?” Jungkook asked like it was the dumbest question he needed to ask. You don’t keep crazy sex-driven supervillains in your home. It was a rule of thumb.

“Because he’s not like that all the time. His name is Min Yoongi. He’s a good guy, he’s just very emotionally unstable. He’s scared and frustrated and doesn’t like people. But it’s not his fault. His parents locked him away at a young age because of his, er, talent. They barred his windows and gave him food through a slot in his door. They were terrified of him, and of what he could do. Yoongi is very complex.”

Jungkook nodded his head, trying to comprehend what Jin was telling him. The poor guy’s childhood sucked, and now he was messed up.

Kinda like Jungkook. Except, you know, not to that extreme.

Jin continued. “Yoongi himself has the power to bring back the dead. Dead anything, people, plants, animals, you name it. But he doesn’t do it often because it’s messing with the balance of the universe and bad stuff happens. It makes him extremely vulnerable and weak. Agu—the other guy—can kill with direct skin contact. And he loves killing. He will kill until there is nothing left to kill.” Jin looked at Jungkook with a very serious expression on his face, and Jungkook gulped. “Which confuses me as to why he did not touch you.”

“It was dark,” Jungkook argued, “he couldn’t see me.” Except Jungkook knew that Agust D could in fact see him.

Jin clucked his tongue. “I can feel him writhing around whenever Yoongi’s in charge, trying to push his way into control. Sometimes I can feel Yoongi attempting to push him away, but he doesn’t win very often.”

“But it’s always the opposite when the other guy is in charge. Yoongi doesn’t make an attempt strong enough for me to feel him trying to remove the evil from his body. I don’t even understand how he can stay himself for as long as he does.”

“Have you tried, uh,” Jungkook pointed to his head and Jin nodded, a sad smile on his face.

“Countless times. It doesn’t work.” he pushed up off the bed and stretched before offering a hand to Jungkook. “Don’t be scared of Yoongi. He’s a great guy and an even better leader. His life is just ruled by fear.”

Jungkook felt bad for this Yoongi. He had a sudden urge to try and help him.

“I can feel your anxiety all through my body. Try and lower that a little, alright? You’re making my bones ache.”

“It’s not my fault,” Jungkook said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. “You’re the one digging around in my brain. If you don’t like what you see, get out.”

Jin sighed. “All I’m saying Jungkook, is that you don’t need to be afraid. You’re safe here.”

“I’d be safer if I could leave,” he mumbled under his breath. Jin shook his head sadly.

“I let Jimin know you’re awake. He’ll be here to take you to get some food. You’re always welcome to visit me if you want. This is my room.” He gestured to the space around him, and Jungkook only nodded his head.

It was quiet until there was a knock at the door and Jin pulled it open to reveal a small smiling dye blonde.

“Hiya Jungkook! Good to see you’re feeling alright. Hope Jin didn’t give you one of his life lessons.” Jin rolled his eyes and disappeared into what seemed to be a bathroom. The door shut and a lock clicked.

“It was alright,” Jungkook replied as he followed Jimin out into the hallway. He glanced back, watching the door to Jin’s room slam shut. The two began walking towards to dining room.

“Jin can get a little intense at times. Sorry about that. But he’s extremely talented in what he does.” Jimin shrugged. “Let’s get you some food and then I’ll introduce you to some people.”

“Oh, no, that’s fine, you don’t have to do that,” Jungkook said, his voice trailing off. Jungkook was not a people person. Jungkook didn’t make friends. Jungkook didn’t talk to people.

“They’re all nice, don’t worry.” Jimin was grinning and Jungkook just nodded his head, unable to make a counterargument. He hoped Jin felt a spike in his anxiety. That’s what he got for digging around Jungkook’s skull.

They came to a table with three people already sitting at it - Jungkook recognized Tae and Yeojin from the day before. The third girl kept to herself; her resting face made her look like someone who could make Jungkook cease to exist. He gulped.

“Tae!” Jimin waved to get his attention, and Tae groaned when he noticed Jungkook with him. Jimin pushed Jungkook down into a chair next to Yeojin.

“Why are you bringing this guy back here?” Tae asked, raising an eyebrow. That scowl was still on his face.

“Lighten up, Tae,” Jimin said with a smile before leaving to go get food. Jungkook wondered if they would ever let him get his own food. Yeojin turned towards Jungkook.

“So you’re the human everyone is talking about?” Jungkook shrugged. He didn’t know people had been talking about him. “I know I saw you briefly yesterday, but I didn’t get the chance to introduce myself. I’m Yeojin.” She grinned, and Jungkook stared at her like he was waiting for more. Yeojin looked down at her shirt. “What? Do I have something on me?”

“No,” Jungkook said, shaking his head. “Sorry, it’s just everyone here has been doing something weird and I was just waiting for you do to the same.” The girl across the table - the one who looked like she could kill Jungkook - let out a loud laugh and the hair on Jungkook’s arm stood on end. He shivered.

“Weird Tae brought you in,” the girl spoke, surprising Jungkook.“I’m Olivia. I’d shake your hand, but I don’t think you want to get shocked.” the minute Olivia said that a flicker of electricity jumped across her fingertips, causing Jungkook’s jaw to drop.

“You’re the one that took the other guy down!”

Olivia raised an eyebrow. “The other guy?”

“Yoongi’s supervillain side,” Tae cut in, his arms tightly folded across his chest. Jungkook nodded his head.

“Oh. Yeah. When he doesn’t see it coming, he gets the shock of a lifetime.” Olivia grinned and Jungkook half expected Tae to punch Olivia for cracking a pun. But Tae didn’t even flinch. Jimin came back then with two plates of food. Eggs again. Jungkook didn’t care. Jimin had even been nice enough to bring him a fork.

Jungkook ate a little before Jimin was nudging him. “Did you meet Olivia and Yeojin?” Jungkook nodded his head. He continued eating.

It was then that Olivia’s drink slid across the table all on its own, straight into Yeojin’s hand. Jungkook was aware he had food falling out of his mouth.

“I can move stuff with my mind, no biggie,” Yeojin said with a grin as she drank from Olivia’s cup until it was empty. Then she slammed it on the table, and Olivia sighed.

“You’re getting me another.”

“I might drink it all by the time I get to the table.”

Jungkook decided he liked Olivia and Yeojin.

Five minutes later, Jimin was pulling Jungkook out of his chair. “I want to introduce you to some people. Not a lot,” He started when Jungkook flashed a look of concern, “just some friends.” Jimin led Jungkook to a different table where they sat down across from the blonde Jungkook remembered from the day before and another girl with dark hair. “Hey Chae, Jennie. This is Jungkook.”

“The human! I’ve been wondering when I’d get to meet you.” Chae beamed and held out her hand. Jungkook took it, flashing his most charming smile.

“Thanks for leaving the door unlocked,” he said quietly, causing Chae to laugh.

“Tae almost fucking murdered me. It was an accident! I forgot to lock it after Jennie here left. Now he’s making me do these stupid perimeter checks.” She rolled her eyes.

“Me too. Nice going stupid.” Jennie punched Chae hard in the arm.

“They’re sisters,” Jimin explained. “Chae can teleport and Jennie can run really fast.”

“Not only that,” Jennie started, a smile spreading across her face, “Fast everything. Fast metabolism, fast healing, fast sobriety. I can eat whatever I want and I can’t get drunk.”

“Never challenge Jennie to a drinking contest. You will lose.” Chae pulled Jennie’s hair, and Jennie was shoving her out of her chair. Chae stood up, attempting to push her sister, but by the time she had moved her hand, Jennie was across the room leaning against the wall, a smirk on her face. She waved, and Chae huffed. “Fucking idiot.”

A hint of a smile rose to Jungkook’s lips. “Sorry I got you in trouble.”

Chae shrugged. “It’s alright. Tae thinks he’s so cool because he’s in charge. He’ll forget about this in a couple of weeks.”

“You’re only good for getting pizza,” Jennie was sitting in the chair before, and Jungkook stared. When had she come back?

Jungkook’s brain hurt.

“Am not. I get more supplies than you do.”

“Do not.”

“Do too.”

“Do not!”

“You’re like Quicksilver,” Jungkook interrupted, and the sisters stared at him. Jennie opened her mouth and then closed it. She shrugged.

“I guess.”

Chae laughed. “She’s freaking out on the inside.” Jennie punched her, but there was heat rising to her cheeks.

“Ok,” Jimin started as he stood up. “Thanks for the thrilling conversation.”

“It was nice to meet you Jungkook! Come visit!” Chae grinned and waved goodbye as Jimin pulled Jungkook away.

“So Tae is in charge?” Jungkook questioned as they approached another table. “I thought Yoongi was.”

“Tae’s second in charge. He does the leader stuff when Yoongi isn’t well.”

“Which is all the time I’m assuming.”

Jimin sighed. “Things have been hard for Yoongi recently. They seem to be getting worse. Tae understands. We all do.”

Jungkook wondered why. He really wanted to talk to this Yoongi and he didn’t know why he was being pushed and pulled towards a guy he didn't even know.

“Hey, guys!” Jimin’s chipper tone interrupted Jungkook’s thoughts as he was shoved down at a table with four young guys, all that seemed to be in their late teens. Jungkook immediately recognized Kai, who couldn’t have been older than eighteen. An older boy with purple hair next to him, and across was another dark-haired boy and a guy with bright yellow hair under a grey beanie, He could feel himself sweating. Was it humid in this corner of the room or was Jungkook just super scared someone was going to kill him?

“Hey, Jimin!” Kai grinned and waved. Jungkook saw him reach for the purple-haired boy’s hand. Was everyone in this place gay?

“This is Jungkook. Tae broke his arm and nose, Jin fixed him, and then Tae gave him to me.” Jimin explained, waving his hands all over the place. Jungkook could feel his face turning red.

“So he’s your pet?” Kai said. Jungkook’s blush deepened.

“We don’t keep humans as pets, stupid,” the purple-haired boy exclaimed as he punched Kai in the shoulder with his free hand. Jungkook started sweating harder. He really hoped they didn’t notice. “My name’s Soobin. This is Kai, and over there is Beomgyu and Yeonjun.”

“Soobin, Kai, Beomgyu, and Yeonjun,” Jungkook repeated, and then he burst into laughter. Jungkook wasn’t sure why that was so funny to him. He wasn’t sure if it was from the lack of sleep or deliriousness, but Jungkook was laughing right here right now and he had five pairs of eyes staring at him like he was crazy. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but it sounded funny and I haven’t slept and I’m sorry.”

Kai smiled. “It’s alright, we’re all a little messed up here.” Everyone nodded their heads. Jungkook always found a way to make things awkward. Maybe that would his superpower if he had one.

“Show Jungkook what you can do,” Jimin said, trying to divert the conversation away from Jungkook’s awkward slip-up. Jungkook spoke again.

“I saw, uh, what you can do, Kai.” Kai nodded his head, a satisfied look on his face.

“Do not under any circumstances piss this guy off,” Soobin said with a jab of his thumb. “He will mess you up.”

“I’m usually an ok guy though. Or at least I like to think so.”

“Kai Huening: King of giggles,” Beomgyu spoke up, a smug grin on his face. Kai nodded his head.

“It’s true.”

Soobin dramatically sighed as he pretended to inspect his nails. He looked extremely bored with the conversation. “Well sure Mr. Giggles can manifest giant darkness fog things, but he can’t do this!” and then Jungkook was watching in shock as Soobin waved his hand and a stream of water rose from his cup. It formed into a circle, and then it was exploding over Kai, water soaking his hair and dripping down his forehead. Jungkook grinned.

“Screw you, Soobin,” Kai mumbled as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and then ran his fingers through his now sopping wet hair. “Now I’m going to have to go fix my hair that took me forever to make perfect.” Soobin rolled his eyes.

“So you’re Aquaman then?” Jungkook asked.

“Soobin is a lot stupider than Aquaman,” Kai replied. In return, Soobin flicked his wrist and the rest of the water in his cup was dripping down Kai’s face.

“You want to insult me again, Kai?” Kai shook his head.

“I’ll be good. I promise.” Soobin smiled, satisfied.

“I can control the movement and flow of water. But there has to be a source. I can’t magically make it appear.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. As he moved, Jungkook noticed the tips of his ears were pointed and webbed, like the fins of a fish. “I can also breathe underwater, which is pretty cool if I say so myself.”

“Soobin at the beach is my favorite thing ever,” Kai started, “he can make these giant waves rise that crash into the shore, like freaking Poseidon.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Jungkook agreed, nodding his head. But it also was pretty freaking terrifying.

“I apologize if it’s a little humid. I can’t help that,” Soobin added sheepishly.

“Enough about Huening and Soobin,” Beomgyu cut in before Jungkook could reply. “Neither one of them have powers as cool as mine.” Kai rolled his eyes.

“You wish, Gyu.”

“What can you do?” Jungkook asked quietly. He was scared it would be something that could kill him.

“I can’t exactly show you, but I can slow time down for a few seconds at a time. It really helps in fighting and stuff.”

“Yet I can still beat you,” Yeonjun chuckled and spoke for the first time since Jungkook had arrived. 

Beomgyu snorted. “Whatever. You can beat anyone with one arm tied behind your back.” Yeonjun nodded his head in agreement, a smirk plastered across his face. Jungkook noticed his beanie get caught on two small nubs sticking up under the hat. Were those… horns?

“Super strength,” Yeonjun told Jungkook, “It’s boring, but I’m okay with it.”

Jungkook mentally noted to not mess with anyone at this table.

“It was nice to meet all of you,” said Jungkook. He stood up, really wanting to be anywhere but here. Jungkook maybe even wanted to be around other humans, like himself. He never thought he would think that.

“You’re alright, for a human,” Soobin replied. “You can hang out with us anytime.” Alright for a human. Jungkook took that as a compliment.

“Thanks, you guys,” Jimin waved. Jungkook had forgotten he was even there.

When he walked into a building with an unlocked door, he never would have thought there would be a giant group of people with superpowers hiding away in it. If someone told Jungkook he was going to engage in conversation with these people, he would have run far away from them because they were obviously high on something.

“Your heart is beating really fast,” Jimin commented, his face full of concern. “Is something wrong?”

Jungkook shook his head. “It’s just that this is real. This isn’t a dream. You guys can do these things, like for real!”

“Like for real,” repeated Jimin slowly. He rested his hand on Jungkook’s back. “Do you need to sit down?” Jungkook only nodded. He was afraid he might cry or do something stupid. “We can go to my room. There’s a spare bed.”

Jungkook followed Jimin down the hallway, his breaths short and uneven. He was pretty sure he might start hyperventilating soon because his brain was just now realizing that these people with powers were real and they could kill Jungkook without even doing really anything. Jungkook wondered if they would even let him leave now that he knew about them. It’s not like anyone would believe Jungkook if he told them there was a clan of people living in the forest by the city with superpowers.

Then again, Jungkook did know where they lived.

_Oh God_ , he thought, _they’re going to kill me._

“Jungkook??” Jimin reached out to touch him again. Jungkook flinched and pulled away. “What’s wrong?”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Jungkook’s voice was breaking more every second that passed.

Jimin tilted his head in confusion. “What? Why would you ask that?”

“You’re going to kill me,” whispered Jungkook. His eyes were full of fear and he took a few more steps back.

“We aren’t going to kill you! No one is going to hurt you again, I promise. I know Tae and Joon did, but they-”

“Then let me leave,” Jungkook suggested. His tongue felt too big to be in his mouth and there was a lump in his throat. “I won’t tell anyone you’re here, I promise. I swear on my mother’s grave I won’t tell anyone.”

Jimin sighed sadly, his face full of pain. “You - you can’t leave Jungkook. I’m sorry, but you can’t.”

“You can’t just keep me here!” his voice was rising with hysteria and tears were burning at the corners of his eyes. Jungkook didn’t cry. He didn’t. Little kids cried and Jungkook was a grown man. “I have a life out there! I have a life -”

“I know you do Jungkook, I know, and I’m so sorry Chae left the door unlocked and you came in and Tae threw you in a cell. I’m so, so sorry, but you know where we are, and we can’t let you leave.”

Jungkook was crying. His shoulders were shaking and there was wetness on his cheeks and he made no attempt to wipe them away. Jungkook was going to be surrounded by these people until the day he died, these people that called him human and acted like he was a middle school science fair project.

He didn’t push Jimin away when the blonde wrapped his arms around him tightly, only cried into his shoulder. This was awful.

“Shh, it’s alright. Life here isn’t that bad. We’ll find you a room, and Tae can take you to get your things. Everyone here is nice, I promise. It’s a fresh start.”

Jungkook didn’t want a fresh start. He had attempted a fresh start and almost got killed by two very scary-looking men.

“You can rest in my room if you want, take a shower, comb your hair, brush your teeth. You can borrow some clothes too. I know there’s bound to be someone your size around.”

He nodded. Jimin was trying his hardest, Jungkook knew that. But Jungkook was a mess, and Jungkook had been a mess since his third year of high school.

Then there was pulling, and Jungkook was wiping his eyes, listening to Jimin say “it’s going to be okay” over and over again like Jungkook would believe it if he said it enough times. He was being shuffled into a dark room, and there was a bed, a nice bed, and Jungkook was taking his shirt off and climbing under the comforter. Jimin was still whispering encouragements, but Jungkook wasn’t listening. He was begging himself to fall asleep quickly.

\---

Jungkook found himself stuck in a room.

Something warm and sticky dripped down the back of his neck and covered his face causing a very uncomfortable atmosphere to consume him. His wrists and ankles were chained to the wall.

Where was he?

Something moved and Jungkook couldn’t be bothered to look around. He felt defeated.

“Yoongi hasn’t let me see humans since I killed hundreds of them three years ago,” there was that crackly strange voice, and a pair of cruel golden eyes. “Make that hundreds plus one.” He was laughing, evil and bitter, and suddenly Jungkook hurt all over. Jungkook was screaming. Jungkook wanted to die.

Jungkook woke up covered in sweat. The room was still dark, but he could hear activity bustling outside the bedroom door. He focused on trying to get his heart rate down and his breathing back to normal. It was just a dream, he told himself, just a dream.

Except that it wasn’t, because a crazy psychopath was living in the building who certainly wanted to hurt Jungkook.

He decided to go for a walk. Jimin wasn’t around, and Jungkook didn’t know where to find him, so he’d do things on his own. After slipping back into his T-shirt, he pulled open the door, looked both ways down the hallway, and turned right.

Jungkook didn’t know where he was going, but he could feel people staring at him. They probably wondered why the “pet” was roaming the halls by himself. For once, Jungkook didn’t care. He couldn’t be bothered to care because he was trapped here so he was going to make himself comfortable. Except these hallways never seemed to end, and Jungkook couldn’t tell where he was. Everything twisted into one another and they all looked the same.

But this was new.

Jungkook stood at the top of a staircase that spiraled down into darkness. He was curious about where it led. He was also curious as to why nobody was going near it; no one was even looking at it. The rooms that surrounded it seemed vacant and Jungkook wondered what was down in the darkness that made everyone want to run the other way.

Oh.

It made sense. Nobody would want to be near a crazy evil supervillain that lived in the basement.

Yoongi Yoongi Yoongi.

Jungkook felt like he was being pulled by a magnetic force down the stairs. He was intrigued, wanted to take every step down to see what he would find.

“Jungkook!” He turned around to see Jimin running down the hallway. He was panting and covered in sweat like he had been running all over the place, looking for -

Oops.

“What’s down there?” Jungkook questioned, even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

“No,” Jimin said fiercely, although his panting ruined his serious tone. “You can’t go down there.”

“What’s down there?” he repeated, taking a step down. Jimin followed.

“It doesn’t matter because you cannot go down there.”

“There’s no caution tape anywhere. No ‘DO NOT ENTER’ sign. I think it’s ok.” Two more steps.

“Jungkook, I swear to God, you need to stop.” Three more steps. The staircase was starting to circle back around.

“Why?” Four more steps.

“Because I said so.”

“Not good enough.” Two more steps and Jimin was grabbing ahold of Jungkook’s shoulder.

“Yoongi lives down there. You really shouldn’t bother him.”

“What time is it?”

“Quarter to three.”

“He’s awake, probably doing stuff I would bet.” three more steps.

“Jesus Christ Jungkook, you need to stop!”

Jungkook turned around to face Jimin. He bent down to look at his eye level.

“You have the power to make me. So do it.” Jimin clenched his jaw but made no move to do such a thing. “You can hear my heart. So tell me, sir, do I sound scared?”

Jimin’s brown eyes flickered with a hint of blue, but it was gone within the same second. Jungkook continued down the stairs. Two, three, four, five more steps.

“Yoongi hates humans!” he suddenly blurted out, causing Jungkook to swivel back around.

“What?”

“He hates them with every living fiber in his body. He detests them. Despises them. Abhors them. Shall I continue?”

But it didn’t matter, because Jungkook had reached the end of the stairs.

There was a small room with two giant, metal double doors at the end. They were covered in chains and deadbolts, and Jungkook felt his body fill with fear. It looked like something straight out of The Walking Dead.

“For someone with a fear of conversation you sure are a little shit,” Jimin muttered as he finished the trek down the stairs. He placed his hands on his hips. “You happy? That’s all that’s down here. Just like I said. I’m not crazy Jungkook, I actually know what I’m talking about believe it or not.”

Jungkook wasn’t paying any attention to Jimin’s muttering. He was too interested in the crackly music coming from the other side of the chained door. He wondered what Yoongi was doing behind the door. He wondered how Yoongi spent his free time when he wasn’t...well...evil. Should he knock?

But there was no need for him to knock because a pair of quizzical brown eyes appeared behind the window and Jungkook sucked in air. He could feel his heart rate increasing in speed. The brown eyes flicked over to where the deadbolt was in place, and Jungkook guessed that meant he should open the door. Yoongi obviously was himself at the moment.

“Don’t you dare,” Jimin warned, but Jungkook wasn’t feeling compelled not to, and Jimin wasn’t taking advantage of his powers, so he did it anyway. The deadbolt made a loud sound as it clicked open, and the heavy doors creaked as they opened.

They sounded like they weren’t opened that often.

The crackly music increased in volume and Jungkook realized it was a record player with a vinyl record spinning around, the needle dragging. The woman’s voice that filled the room gave off an eerie tone. Yoongi spun around on his heel, the fabric of his black hoodie swishing around him. Jungkook swallowed. The casual clothes on Yoongi didn’t make him any less intimidating. 

The room was dark, and some spots on the walls were covered in carved tally marks. A giant mahogany desk sat against the back wall covered in scattered papers, notebooks, and pens. Behind it was a panel full of black buttons.

Yoongi sat down at the desk and lolled his head back. His neck twitched before he was leaning forward and glaring at the two unwelcomed visitors.

“Have a seat.” Jungkook was surprised that his voice sounded the same as the other guy's. For some reason, Jungkook figured it would sound different. Still, it was the most unique voice he had ever heard.

Jimin went in first, his eyes moving all around the room. He looked afraid. Jungkook didn’t blame him as he followed. This place was creepy as hell. They both sat down at the desk, the vinyl still crackling behind them. This was the first time Jungkook was able to get a good look at Yoongi.

He was a little bit shorter than Jungkook and skinny, but his arms gave evidence that he worked out. He had a dark cliché bad-guy-esqe scar across his face that started above his eyebrow, ran right over his left eye and down his cheek. Jungkook wondered where he had gotten it. Dark black hair, brown eyes, round cheeks, and oh. Yoongi was deceptively beautiful.

He was also wringing his hands, one twitching every so often, but that wasn’t the part that intrigued Jungkook. Yoongi’s hands were covered in black gloves that reached halfway down his forearm. Jungkook wondered why Yoongi was hiding away something so beautiful. His fingers were long and moved with such grace; Jungkook wondered what it would be like to tangle his own with ones like that.

“Why did you come down here?” Yoongi demanded, his voice wavering before settling on an inside tone. Jimin opened his mouth to speak, but Jungkook held up a hand.

“It was me,” he began, trying to keep his voice from slipping up. He didn’t want to show Yoongi how scared he really was. “I was curious.”

Yoongi narrowed his dark eyes. “It’s not nice to invade. Didn’t anyone tell you that?” He let out a bitter dead-cat laugh, one that sounded way too similar to his evil counterpart. “Of course not. You’re nothing but a bottomfeeder. Trash. A leech. Useless to this world.” He sneered. “You and every other human on this planet.”

“Sir?” Jimin stammered, causing Yoongi to send daggers his way. “Do you remember what happened last night?” Yoongi rolled his eyes and shifted his position so his feet were resting on the desk with his hands draped lazily across his chest. His jeans were tight, and his legs were long and -

Jungkook crossed his own legs. Now was not the time for him to be swallowed up by emotions.

“It was dark. Kai’s work I assume?” He sounded bored like this was a conversation he had to endure daily. Jimin nodded. “I don’t know why he tries. He can still see; I’m the one that can’t.” Yoongi paused and raised a hand to his face. His head twitched before he continued speaking. “Can you please explain to me why this thing is in here?” Jungkook tried to swallow, but the lump in his throat blocked the way.

“Taehyung,” Jimin instituted, raising his hands, but Yoongi was throwing another glare and Jimin clamped his mouth shut. Yoongi leaned back, his head tilting to the side gently as one finger brushed one of the buttons on the panel. He cleared his throat when Tae’s deep voice answered.

“Sir? Are you alright?”

“Taehyung? Can you please come down here?” Yoongi almost sounded friendly, but it didn’t last long. “I think you have some explaining to do.”

Silence. And then Tae was stumbling over his words. “Yes Yo- Sir. Right away.” Even Tae sounded afraid of Yoongi. Jungkook couldn’t breathe and his ribs contracted farther into his lungs.

Two minutes of waiting and the record ended, the needle scraping against the whisper of an empty song. It was an awful sound, and it did nothing to help the tone of the room. Jimin was tapping his foot against the ground and Jungkook was trying to look anywhere in the room but Yoongi.

Yoongi, graceful, beautiful, terrifying Yoongi.

Jungkook was thankful when Tae entered through the already opened doors, his breathing uneven. He approached the side of the desk and stood straight.

“Sir.” Tae looked forward.

“Now Taehyung, I’m a little confused as to why we have an animal lose in the building. Maybe you could tell me why?”

“Chaeyoung left the door unlocked and he found the building. I put him in a cell. My apologies.”

“Hmm.” Yoongi shifted positions once more, his feet back on the ground and his elbows rested on his desk. He went back to wringing his hands. “That’s funny because I don’t think ‘I’m sorry’ will solve our problem. Do I need to call the exterminator?”

“I don’t think the exterminator will be of much help. They met last night.” Tae was monotone, and he still refused to look at Yoongi.

Yoongi raised an eyebrow and stood up. He began pacing around Tae, the loose fabric of his shirt swishing around his torso. “You’re telling me that he had a run-in with a human and made no attempt to kill?”

“Yes sir.”

“It’s true,” Jimin spoke up, turning away when Yoongi glared at him. Jungkook bit his lip. He could taste the metallic luster of blood in his mouth, and maybe that was the only thing keeping him sane right now. Yoongi moved away from Tae and crossed to Jungkook’s side, and then he was leaning so close to him that Jungkook could trace his scar with his eyes and see that Yoongi’s dark eyes were more than dark. They were a masterpiece.

“What are you?” his voice remained the same tone, and Jungkook wished he would start yelling. It would be a lot less scary than this.

“I, uh, I don’t, I’m not,” Jungkook stammered; he couldn’t find his footing on his words. He continued to stare into Yoongi’s eyes, trying to find some sort of emotion swirling around in them.

Gold. He could see gold.

Oh no.

Yoongi took a step backward, his back hitting the corner of the desk and sending a stack of papers fluttering to the ground. He raised a hand to his head, face masked in pain. His black hair slowly began to change as bleach-blonde began to sprout from his roots. Shit shit shit.

“Get out,” Yoongi growled as he bumped another stack of papers off his desk. His back hit the wall. Jimin pushed out of his chair, the scraping echoing loudly off the walls. “Get out, and lock the door.” He let out a small yell and his body curled farther in on itself. Jungkook was frozen, his eyes wide.

And then Yoongi was screaming.

And Jungkook realized this was not good.

Jimin grabbed Jungkook by the shoulder tightly, and the three of them were darting out of the room as fast as they could, Yoongi’s screams engraving themselves into the back of Jungkook’s brain. Tae was fumbling with the deadbolt and the chains, Jimin shouting orders quickly and loudly, and Jungkook just stared.

They barely had finished in time when Yoongi - Not Yoongi - was slamming his hands on either side of the window, a vicious smile on his face and evil in his eyes. Not Yoongi’s hair had transformed from black to a bleached blonde color, matching his cruel yellow eyes. Jungkook felt like he had been hit in the stomach with a car.

Tae stood hunched over, one hand against the wall as he struggled to catch his breath. Jimin had his arms wrapped around himself.

“You aren’t going to let me play with your pet?” He called out loudly from behind the door. “I already called rights. I’m the one who gets to fuck him and tear his bones out of his skin.” Jungkook thought he was going to piss himself.

The other two men ignored the other guy and turned towards Jungkook instead. Jungkook glanced at Tae, whose right eye was twitching severely. His lips twitched up into a snarl.

Tae’s fist connected with Jungkook’s jaw before he understood what was happening. He was thrown against the wall with enough force to knock the wind out of him, Jungkook’s head slamming against the concrete. His vision was swimming with stars.

And then pain. Jungkook’s bones were cracking.

“YOU!” Tae spat, his hand around Jungkook’s neck, his vision already starting to turn white at the corners. “This is your fault! I should kill you right here. You’re a fucking idiot, ruining fucking everything!!” Large cracks were starting to spider in the walls and the room shook.

“Tae!” Jimin hollered, tugging on Tae’s arm. “Get OFF of him!”

Tae shoved Jimin to the ground. He was too focused on making sure Jungkook would be nothing but a rotting corpse in the next three minutes.

Jungkook couldn’t breathe. The pain was running rivers in his veins and his lungs were exploding in his chest. _He_ was cackling. It was loud, and it melted in with the skipping record to send another wave of fear through Jungkook’s entire body. This was it. He was going to die.

“Taehyung,” Jimin warned, his voice deeper and firmer than Jungkook had ever heard. His eyes glowed icy blue. “Get the fuck off of him.” Tae released immediately, and Jungkook slumped to the ground with a gasp for air. He swallowed it in large gulps, trying to fill his empty lungs with as much as possible.

“Thank you,” Jungkook sputtered, his voice still not fully there. Jimin wasn’t done. He pointed upstairs.

“Go upstairs and take a fucking walk outside. Don’t come back until tomorrow, because I don’t want to see you.” Jimin’s voice cracked at the end like he wasn’t certain he meant that last part. Tae obeyed right away, and he disappeared up the stairs.

Jungkook was coughing hard, and he could see crimson splatters hitting the floor behind him. Jimin helped him stand up, slipping an arm around his waist.

“I’m gonna get you to Jin, don’t worry. This isn’t your fault. None of this is your fault.”

Jungkook couldn’t hear him.

Agust D’s cackle was ringing in his ears.


	3. 003

“We have to stop meeting like this,” Jin said with a sigh when Jungkook opened his eyes. The alarm clock on Jin’s dresser read 3:15 am.

Jungkook remembered everything so clearly. Meeting Yoongi, Agust D, Tae trying to kill him, Jimin taking him to Jin, Jin fixing him, and so much Benadryl Jungkook expected to be sleeping for days. Except that Jungkook was awake and it was 3:15 am.

“Did you sleep?” Jungkook inquired as he rubbed his eyes.

“I did not. Too much worry and fear coursing through your body. I can feel everything.”

“Can’t you just heal it?”

“Doesn’t work like that sadly,” Jin replied. “But I felt something else this time. It was stronger than anything else swimming around your head.” Jungkook pushed his back against the wall as he raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

“What’s that?”

“Love and curiosity.”

Jungkook scowled. “I don’t know about the love part. I think I’d know about something like that.”

“Emotions often appear before we realize they are among us. It’s all in due time Jungkook.” Jin’s face suddenly went dark. “But you need to be careful. Min Yoongi is a powerful and complex man. You and he are like oil and water: you don’t mix. Don’t go digging around in something when you know you aren’t going to be happy with the results.”

“Don’t know why I would chase after someone who hates me and everyone like me,” Jungkook muttered under his breath.

“You aren’t foolish Jungkook, and neither am I. We both know he needs a friend. If you are going to attempt to be his friend, all I ask is that you be careful. Everyone in the building is aware of what happened yesterday. Yoongi lowered his guard and the other guy stepped up to the plate.” The beginning of a smirk rose to Jin’s lips. He ran a hand through his hair. “I could certainly feel your emotions coming from the wrong head.”

Jungkook ducked his head as his face turned bright red. “Those are personal.”

“My apologies. It won’t happen again.” He pushed up from the edge of the bed with a sigh. “I assume you aren’t going back to sleep anytime soon?” Jungkook shrugged.

“I could try. Where do you want me to sleep? You can have your bed back.”

“No no, it’s perfectly fine. There’s no way I’ll be able to sleep, not with you in here and your billions of emotions swirling around your head. I’m gonna take a shower. Try and get a little more sleep ok? Your poor body needs it.”

Jungkook nodded his head. Jin squeezed Jungkook’s shoulder and gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Jin?” Jungkook called out the minute Jin turned towards the bathroom. He swiveled back around.

“Yes, Jungkook?”

“Thank you. For everything.” Jin nodded his head.

“Anything you need, I’ll help you out.”

“One more thing,” Jungkook started. He hated how pathetic he sounded, but at the moment he didn’t care. Jungkook felt safe with Jin around. “Will you stay with me while I’m sleeping?”

“Of course. I’ll be right next to you.”

“Thank you,” Jungkook whispered as he buried himself further into the bed. He pulled the covers over his body and took a deep breath. The pillows smelled like Jin’s cologne. It smelled comforting.

There was a stumble of footsteps and Jin’s lips were suddenly pressed to Jungkook’s forehead. “Sleep well Jungkook.”

\---

Jungkook awoke to Jin’s long arms around him, heat radiating off both their bodies. Jin was snoring softly. He looked so worn out that Jungkook didn’t even want to attempt to move and accidentally wake him up. He felt bad his emotions were keeping Jin awake for long hours, but it wasn’t like he could help it. Jungkook was a melted liquid melancholy mess most of the time.

Minutes passed and Jungkook’s body was beginning to become numb from the way he was laying.  _ Sorry Jin _ , he thought to himself as he shifted his body weight. Jin blinked a couple of times before sitting up. He ran a hand through his mess of black bedhead and stared at Jungkook next to him. Suddenly his face was turning red.

“Oh my gosh, sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep like that.”

“S’okay. I know it wasn’t like that. I asked you to stay with me.”

“I know, but I was wide awake when I sat down. I didn’t mean to -”

Jungkook held up a hand to interrupt Jin. “How about we never speak of this again and call it a truce?” Jin smiled.

“Deal.” The two shook hands. Jin rolled off of the bed and began sifting through clothes in his dresser. He tossed Jungkook a black shirt and a pair of jeans. “I’m not sure how well they’ll fit you, but we can go get your stuff today. I just assumed you might want to change out of the outfit you’ve been wearing for the past three days.”

Jungkook nodded his head. His thin T-shirt was covered in blood and dirt, and he needed a shower. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” He immediately peeled off his shirt and shimmied into Jin’s. “Any idea of who’s taking me?”

“Well,” Jin disappeared into the bathroom and came out with a pair of jeans. “I have an idea, but I know you aren’t going to like it.”

“Yoongi?” Jungkook asked, feeling ashamed there was a little hopefulness in his voice. Jin scoffed.

“Heavens no. Yoongi is not ready to go out into a city full of humans. I was thinking more along the lines of Tae since he’s second in command.”

Jungkook sighed. Great. Frickin’ great.

“Do we even know where Tae is?”

“He came back early this morning. I assume he’s with Jimin.” Jungkook wondered how easily Jimin was going to forgive Tae for almost killing him. He wasn’t sure if he could stand to be around Tae at the moment. “You feel guilty.”

Jungkook looked up to see Jin observing him. “Huh?”

“You feel guilty for Yoongi changing. That’s not your fault Jungkook.”

Jungkook shrugged. “He was talking to me when it happened. Do you think it’s because I’m human? You said he and the other guy haven’t engaged with humans since, uh, well, you know.”

“Mmm,” Jin shifted his weight and leaned against his dresser, “Possibly, but I think something else was involved.”

“You’re not saying -”

“Not heavy emotions, but I think he was taken back by seeing a human, and an ‘attractive’ one at that. His feelings, not mine.” Jungkook could feel magenta spreading throughout his cheeks. Yoongi thought he was attractive?

“It wasn’t your fault. And the way Tae acted was way out of control. He shouldn’t have done that. But I know Jimin is talking to him about it so we’ll see what happens.” He stood up and sat down on the spot next to Jungkook. “Tae’s hot-headed. It’s one of his flaws. But he’s a really good guy. You just haven’t seen that side of him yet.” Jin reached over to pat Jungkook’s knee and stood back up with a sigh. “I would suggest you go get some breakfast, and I’ll send Jimin to go find you.”

“Are you guys going to give me a room?”

“Of course.”

Jungkook took a deep breath and planned what he was going to say very carefully. “I want a room by the staircase.”

“Jungkook,” Jin warned, but Jungkook continued.

“I’ll be fine. Besides, you said he needed a friend. I just want to help him.”

“Your emotions around him -”

“Fuck my emotions!” Jungkook’s voice rose in volume as he stood from the bed. “I’m sorry, but not one good thing has happened to me since I’ve arrived here. I don’t know what it is about him, but I feel drawn to his stupid prison cell and I want to be by him in case something happens. I don’t care what happens to me. My life is shit anyway.”

“Don’t say that,” Jin whispered, his eyes crinkling with worry. “Your life is important.”

“Like you would care. I’m just some lousy  _ human _ .” Then Jungkook was slipping through the door and walking down the hallway with his hands in his pockets and his head down. Jungkook didn’t want to deal with any of the shit that was being placed before him.

Only there was the problem of the hallways, and they all looked the same. Jungkook couldn’t find the stupid dining room or even remember where Jimin’s room was or the stupid staircase.

Everything was stupid.

He had just turned a corner when a door was suddenly flying open, causing Jungkook to stop dead in his tracks. His heart skipped a beat when he realized who had stepped out.

His ears started ringing.

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” Hoseok grinned as he came closer. Jungkook backed up. “I heard that we were getting a pet though. How exciting!”

“You can’t hurt me,” Jungkook whispered. “It’s not my fault I can’t leave.”

Hoseok laughed loudly. “That doesn’t concern me. All I know is that you’re human and I’m not, so we are going to have some fun.”

The ringing was so loud Jungkook couldn’t hear himself think.

“Everything in the world gives off a frequency Jungkookie, don’t know if you knew that or not. I can mess with these frequencies and make your life a living hell.”

The lightbulb above their heads was letting off a small whining noise before it shattered. Hoseok grinned viciously.

“For fucks sake, Joon,” a guy appeared in the doorway that Hoseok had come out of, and he looked very annoyed. He was a lot taller than Namjoon with light brown hair that matched his. The minute the ringing was reduced to a small buzz, Jungkook was overcome with peace. He stared at the other man. “Will you leave the guy alone?”

“He’s worthless to everyone here,” Hoseok argued. “Are you really going to defend him?”

“He doesn’t deserve to be tortured by an asshole like you,” Other Guy cocked his head and pointed down the hallway. “Maybe you should take a walk. The ringing in my ears is getting a little too loud.”

Hoseok shot daggers the other guy’s way, his jaw clenched and eyes filled with anger. “Fuck you too,” he muttered as he shoved Jungkook against the wall and disappeared down the hallway.

“I’m sorry about that. Hobi can be kind of an ass sometimes. My name’s Namjoon.” he offered Jungkook a hand. “You want to come in?”

Jungkook swallowed and shrugged his shoulders. He felt calm around this guy, so he didn’t assume anything bad was going to happen. The two walked into Namjoon’s room, and the first thing that Jungkook noticed was how peaceful it was.

There was a couch against one wall and a rug underneath. The walls were painted with neutral colors and everything was organized orderly. The bed in the corner was made.

There was also a younger guy wearing sunglasses that sat on the couch. He couldn’t have been older than nineteen, by Jungkook’s guess. 

“Taehyun, this is the new guy,” Namjoon said nonchalantly as he walked past him and disappeared into the bathroom in the back. Jungkook shifted his weight from one foot to the other, unsure of where to go. He did however appreciate Namjoon not referring him to “the human” as everyone else had been.

Taehyun waved. Jungkook was a little taken aback by this guy. His jawline was perfect and his hair was a bright dye red color, similar to how Jungkook’s hair had been once. “It’s nice to meet you.”

His smile was flawless.

“Er, Hi.” Jungkook waved back awkwardly. Namjoon came out of the bathroom then and took a spot next to Taehyun. He gestured to the chair that was resting up against the wall.

“Have a seat!”

“Uh, ok. Right.” Jungkook pulled the chair over to one corner of the couch and sat down, his hands fidgeting in his lap.

“Your name is Jungkook right?” Namjoon asked as he leaned forward. Jungkook nodded.

“We heard rumors of a human joining us, but I didn’t think it was true!” exclaimed Taehyun as he raised an eyebrow. It was hard to see what he was feeling when he was wearing sunglasses. Jungkook wondered why he was wearing sunglasses indoors. Wasn’t that a famous sign that you were a douche?

“Uh yeah. I’m here to stay I guess.”

“Sorry Joon was being an asshole. He isn’t always like that, but that’s the reason I’m here. Got to keep him in check.” Namjoon grinned. “Most of us are nice, I promise.”

Jungkook nodded his head. He had only run into two, well, three, people that hated him. Everyone else seemed to be ok with him being there.

“So, uh, are you and Hoseok, uh,” Jungkook stammered, not exactly sure what he was trying to ask. Was it rude to ask if people were in a relationship? Especially if Jungkook was assuming they were gay?

“Yeah, we are. As I said, he’s not always an asshole.” Namjoon rolled his eyes. “I love him to death, but his ego is way too big.”

Taehyun snickered. “It’s true.”

Looks like Jungkook had been right. Everyone in this place was gay.

Maybe even him.

“So, uh, can I ask you guys what you can do maybe? It’s just that yesterday was filled with a lot of surprises and I’d rather save the trouble and shock for some other time.” Taehyun’s face seemed to light up the minute he finished talking.

“Oh brother,” Namjoon muttered. “You don’t ask Kang Taehyun what he does.” Taehyun elbowed him playfully.

“I’ll show you a magic trick,” Taehyun announced as he scooted to the end of the couch and raised his right hand. He wiggled his fingers gently, and suddenly a small grey cloud was forming in the palm of his hand. “How much do you like storms?”

“Uh,” Jungkook mused, blinking a couple of times to make sure he was truly seeing this. “They’re alright. I like the rain.”

Taehyun was grinning so tightly Jungkook was sure his cheekbones would pop out of his skin. “Alright, a little rain coming right up.” the miniature cloud in Taehyun’s hand starting pouring, water leaking through his fingers and onto the floor below them. Namjoon groaned.

“God, you’re getting water everywhere!”

“Shut up Namjoon, this is cool.” The cloud sparked with electricity as a small lightning bolt hit the center of his palm, and then thunder was shaking the entire building. Jungkook was astounded. The guy could control storms?

“So, storms then?” Jungkook tried to play it off cool, but in all honesty, the whole powers thing was still freaking him out.

“Storms, wind, rain, lightning, thunder, the whole shebang. I’m practically Zeus.” he beamed, a smirk rising to his lips. Namjoon was rolling his eyes again.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Am not,” Taehyun replied as he closed his fist. The storm cloud went away.

“Are too. You wear sunglasses indoors and you look like a douchebag.”

“I can’t help that. You know I’m a man of darkness.” He turned towards Jungkook. “Light doesn’t do great things for me. I promise I’m not a douchebag.”

“He is,” Namjoon argued.

“Ok Mr. I-Can-Do-Everything-Better-Than-You, go ahead and show our guest your truly amazing talent.” Taehyun leaned back and crossed his arms, sending Namjoon a challenging look.

“Alright,” Namjoon replied defensively. “Pick an emotion Jungkook.”

“An emotion?” Jungkook repeated, not sure if he had heard Namjoon correctly.

“Yep. A feeling. A thought. Anything.”

“Anger.” It was the first thing that had come to Jungkook’s mind.

And then Jungkook was angry.

No, Jungkook was furious.

He wasn’t exactly sure why he was angry, but all he knew was that he wanted to scream and yell and hit something.

“How do you feel?” Namjoon inquired, a smug grin on his face.

“I really want to beat the shit out of someone,” Jungkook responded as he clenched a fist. And just like that, the feeling was gone. He was back to feeling calm and peaceful.

“I can control people’s emotions,” Namjoon explained. “Or I can give a room a certain vibe. That’s why this room feels so calm. It’s my safe place.”

“That’s why we always hang out here,” Taehyun added.

“You’re welcome to hang out here too. I’ll kick Joon out for a little while if you’re stressed out and need a place to hide. I can make you forget why you ever were stressed out or sad or mad in the first place.” Jungkook had to admit, that wasn’t a bad offer.

“Thank you. That’s nice of you to offer.”

“Don’t mention it! I’m always willing to help a friend out.” Friend. Namjoon had called Jungkook his friend. That was a first.

“I should uh, probably get going. Jimin was looking for me, I should try and go find him.” Jungkook stood up from his chair and wiped his sweating hands on his jeans.

“It was nice to meet you! Come visit soon!” Namjoon waved goodbye.

“Yeah, come to say hi.” Taehyun grinned, and Jungkook left the room after one more goodbye.

Maybe Jimin had been right. A fresh start was something Jungkook could use.

\---

Jungkook had barely turned down another hallway (he still had no idea where he was) when his body collided with another, knocking him to the floor.

“Shit, sorry,” they said frantically and Jungkook realized it was Tae. He was frozen and stuck to the floor. “Oh. Jungkook.”

Jungkook didn’t say anything. He just stared and prayed Tae didn’t start cracking his bones again.

“Hey, Uhm,” Tae scratched the back of his head nervously. “I wanted to apologize for the way I acted yesterday. I was really out of line, and I’m sorry. None of that was your fault. I’m the one that messed up, not you. I hope you can forgive me.”

Jungkook blinked a couple of times and continued to stare at Tae.

“Jungkook?”

“Oh, sorry.” he shook his head and pulled himself up off the floor. “Yeah. Thanks for saying sorry.”

“I’ll try to keep my cool. Jimin really likes you, so I’m gonna try my hardest.” He sighed. “Not that he’s the reason I’m gonna start being nice to you, no, it’s just that we haven’t ever really had humans around and I don’t interact with them much and I’m really sorry. Can we start over?”

Jungkook nodded his head and bowed. “Hi, I’m Jungkook. Nice to meet you.”

“Taehyung. Nice to meet you too.” They shared a smile. “Do you want to go get your stuff now?”

“Yeah. That’d be nice.” Tae patted his back.

“Let’s go then.” He started down the hallway and Jungkook followed, trying to figure out a system of memorization for this fricking place. Maybe he’d have to draw a map or something.

Tae led him to a door with a deadbolt quite similar to the one that kept Yoongi from escaping. Jungkook shivered as he unlocked it. It opened to the outdoors up a set of stairs.

This was the door Jungkook had found.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure how he had done that.

“We have a little bit of a walk to the garage,” Tae explained as they walked. Jungkook looked around at the giant trees around them, the foliage so thick he could barely see the sky above him. Yeah, he really didn’t know how he had managed to find this place. “We keep it farther away for security purposes.”

A white blur zoomed past Jungkook, leaving a breeze behind it. Jungkook stopped walking.

“That’s Jennie, don’t worry. She and Chae are doing perimeter checks.” Oh, that’s right. That was to make sure no other humans wandered into the building.

“Are there any animals that can tear me apart in these woods?” Jungkook asked when they continued walking, his voice shaky and his eyes trying to look everywhere at once. Tae snorted.

“The scariest thing in these woods is us.”

That wasn’t comforting to Jungkook.

After ten more minutes of walking and the occasional conversation, Tae suddenly stopped and crouched down next to a patch of grass. He flicked out his pocket knife and dug it into the earth, feeling around until he found an old, worn-out handle. Tae pulled and it groaned loudly, revealing a ladder that disappeared into the darkness.

Why did everything in this place disappear into darkness? That couldn’t be safe.

“You’re going down first,” Tae stated, pointing. Jungkook shook his head.

“Uh, no, that’s ok.”

Tae grunted. “Now.”

Jungkook stared at Tae for a few seconds before giving up and warily taking a step down the ladder. He gripped the edges tightly before making his descent down.

“Flip the light switch when you get down there. It’s to your right.”

The minute Jungkook’s feet touched the solid ground he felt for the light and flipped it on. The room buzzed with electricity and the lights flickered on above him; Jungkook stared in disbelief. The garage was filled with about ten extremely nice cars. Tae’s grunt alerted his arrival.

“Black one, farthest down.”

“No way,” Jungkook breathed. That was a nice car.

“Yes, way. And if you as much as breathe wrong on it I will hurt you.”

“Noted.”

Tae unlocked the car and slid into the driver’s seat, Jungkook following on the passenger side. He was afraid to breathe in a car this nice. Tae revved the engine and pulled out smoothly down a long corridor. They traveled in darkness and silence before the car was barreling down a dirt road and making a sharp turn onto the cracked asphalt.

“You guys really know what you’re doing,” Jungkook tried to make small talk as they drove. He stared out the window and tried not to move.

“Jesus Christ Jungkook, relax. You aren’t going to hurt the car by sitting on the seat like a normal person.” Tae shook his head and Jungkook let his body slide down into the leather. “But yeah, we do. We’ve been here for years.”

“Are there others like you? Like other groups?” They passed a sign that said the speed limit, and Tae was booking it far past it. Jungkook gulped. He hoped Tae knew what he was doing.

“Yeah, we’re scattered all over the place. I’m not sure where the closest group is to us.” He pressed his lips into a thin line. “I’ve heard rumors they aren’t very nice people.” Jungkook refrained from saying something along the lines of “Yeah well neither are a few of you.”

“What do you mean?” he said instead.

“I’ve heard through the grapevine that they’re doing stuff. Kidnapping humans, using them, torturing them, killing them. I’m not sure for what. But it isn’t our business to go figure out if that’s true or not.” Tae shrugged. “Besides, I don’t think any of us even know where that other clan is.”

Jungkook wrapped his arms around himself. If that was true, then it was a sure good thing he hadn’t walked into that one. Torture did not sound fun.

“We don’t engage with other groups. If someone sees a lone talent, they call them in and they join us. There’s no need for us to talk to other groups.”

“You call yourselves talents?” Jungkook asked, his face twisted in contortion. That was stupid.

“Well yeah. That’s what we have so it makes sense.” Tae paused before turning to look at Jungkook. “What did you think we were called?”

“Uhm, well, supers.” He rubbed his head awkwardly and tried to hide his flushed face. Tae burst into loud laughter, causing Jungkook’s blush to deepen.

“Jesus Christ Jungkook, we aren’t superheroes. Supers. Pfft. Stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” Jungkook agreed with the stupid part.

When they reached city limits, Jungkook directed Tae through the streets to his apartment complex. He chewed on his lip in worry, hoping those two very scary looking large men weren’t still hanging out. It had been three days, maybe they had given up. He hoped they had given up.

“You ok kid? Your heart’s going crazy there.”

“Can everyone hear my heartbeat? Is it that loud?” Jungkook was getting a little annoyed with everyone knowing when he was afraid.

“We’ve got enhanced hearing and eyesight. I can hear every human’s heartbeat within a five-kilometer radius. But yours is the loudest at the moment. So what’s up?”

“You remember how I told you I went inside because I was being chased? Because I was in some bad business and now these men want to kill me and I think they may be waiting for me to come back so they can off me.”

Tae stared at Jungkook, trying to let the information absorb in his head. “What bad business can an idiot like you get into?”

“Drugs,” Jungkook responded quietly, his eyes flickering around the car. He was making sure nobody had recognized him. “I was young and I was stupid and I did some drugs and I hauled others and then I left because I couldn’t do it anymore and I thought I had gotten away but now they’re here to kill me.”

“They’re here to kill you,” Tae repeated.

“They’re here to kill me.”

Tae turned off the engine and sighed. “Ok, then we don’t let them kill you.”

“How do we do that?”

“Dude, you have me now. Let’s see them try and kill you when their bones are cracking in half.” He did have a point.

“Ok, yes, good plan.”

“We go to your place, you get what you need and I’ll distract whoever is there. If there are people there.” Jungkook took a deep breath and nodded his head.

They both got out of the car and approached Jungkook’s building carefully. There wasn’t any sign that thugs were around - no big white vans or rusted pickup trucks. Jungkook hoped that was a sign. He led the way up the stairs and down to the back of the building where his apartment sat; his breathing hitched when he saw the lock was broken and the door was cracked. Tae noticed and placed a hand in front of Jungkook.

Neither one dared to breathe as Tae pushed open the door into Jungkook’s tiny living room.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Jungkook thought he was going to faint.

Two men, different men than last time but equally as scary were leaning against the wall; one was smoking. Tae’s hand twitched, and suddenly one of the men was on the floor screaming and writhing in pain. Cracks started forming in the walls.

“Go!” Tae yelled, and Jungkook dashed into his bedroom. He pulled a duffel bag from under his bed and began stuffing all the contents from his dresser and closet into it. He wasn’t paying attention to what he was putting in the bag and he didn’t care. Jungkook grabbed his toothbrush and other bathroom necessities and rushed back into his room, his eyes scanning it frantically. He reached under the mattress to reveal a large wad of cash and stuffed it in his pocket. That was the money he had been saving for that stupid expensive guitar with the sleek blue finish, the stupid one he knew he would never be able to afford. Now he wasn’t going to have any guitar and that left a huge hole in his heart.

The men were still yelling in pain outside; Tae was telling him to hurry. The walls were starting to shake and the cracks had reached his bedroom.

The building was going to cave in on itself.

Jungkook acted fast, swiping his guitar pick case and shoving it in his bag. He grabbed a hat on his way out of his bedroom.

Tae shoved him out of the apartment, his hand still in front of him. The ground was shaking and Jungkook could hear the people in other apartments starting to leave in fear.

“I fucked up,” Tae muttered as he pulled Jungkook down the stairs and to the car. There was a loud ripping noise and Jungkook watched in horror and the ground buckled in on itself, splitting the apartment building directly in half. Dust and debris were everywhere and Jungkook wondered how many people got hurt.

“Tae -”

“Get in the car Jungkook. We have to leave.” Jungkook obeyed and climbed in. There were cracks everywhere; some of them even went so far down the street Jungkook couldn’t see an end. He gulped.

There were a couple of minutes of silence before Tae was sighing loudly. “I’m sorry Jungkook, that got a little out of control. I didn’t mean to bring the building down. I was so focused on distracting and I didn’t realize how bad things were getting.”

“It’s ok.” Jungkook’s apartment hadn’t been the greatest by far. The heating was broken and his showers were always cold and it was small and cramped, but it had been what he called home. “I just hope everyone got out safely.”

“Oh my god,” Tae said mortified. He banged his head on the steering wheel. “I could have gotten someone killed! A family! Kids!”

“No no no, I’m sure everyone is fine,” Jungkook tried to comfort him, but he wasn’t exactly sure where to start. “There weren’t any families that lived in the building anyway. It was mostly broke guys and crackheads.”

Tae sighed with relief. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s ok Tae. I could have gotten killed if it wasn’t for you, so thanks.”

Silence. No one said a word as Tae drove through town. He suddenly turned a sharp corner and Jungkook’s hands smacked the dashboard. “Where are we going?”

“We’re going to get you a new guitar,” Tae retorted, his eyes focused on the road.

“What?” Jungkook asked dumbfoundedly. How did Tae even know?

“I saw it in your living room. And considering I just took down an entire building and destroyed yours, I figured we would get you a new one. It’d give you something to do back home anyways.”

“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that.” Jungkook hated when people bought him things. He hated it. He could work hard and get the money himself; he also hated feeling like he owed somebody something.

“Jungkook, please let me do this. I’m the one who ruined your life. And I almost killed you yesterday so there’s that. I just want to do something nice for somebody for once in my life.” Tae looked like he was about to cry, and Jungkook did not want to deal with that.

“Ok. Sure. Thank you. But it has to be cheap.” Tae didn’t answer.

Jungkook wondered how he knew where the music store in this city even was. Had Tae been here before?

His answer came when they entered the store, and Tae’s eyes flickered over to the empty soundproof room for testing equipment. There was a studio mic set up there right now. Someone must have been recording. 

“You sing?” Jungkook asked, surprised. He thought Tae’s hobbies were intimidation and breaking bones.

“Uh, I used to yeah. Not so much anymore.” He scratched behind his ear. “Anyways, let’s find you that guitar.”

Jungkook knew he shouldn’t even look at the expensive guitar that sat in the back with the sleek blue finish. The stupid expensive guitar he had three thousand won saved up for burning a hole in his pocket.

“This one is nice,” Tae suggested. And oh no. It was that one.

“Yeah,” Jungkook said with a shrug. “Not my thing.”

“You’re a bad fucking liar, I hope you know that.”

Jungkook sighed. “It’s too expensive Tae. Can we just drop it?”

“How much?” Tae rested a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder.

“What?”

“How much do you have saved for it?”

“Why do you assume -”

“Answer the fucking question, please.”

“Three thousand.”

“I’ll pay the rest. And you aren’t going to fight me on this or I’ll break your arm.” Jungkook couldn’t help but smile.

“Ok, ok. Thank you. Thank you so much.” he pulled Tae into a hug.

A fresh start.

\---

Jungkook sat in his new bedroom surrounded by clothes, his guitar, and his accessories. Tae had been so nice that he had also bought Jungkook an amp kit, a stand, and sound-proofing tiles for the walls. Jungkook was putting the stand together, humming happily.

Chae had helped take the stuff back home. It was much easier than trying to fit it all in Tae’s car, trying to carry it up and ladder, and struggle to hold it a mile back home. It looked like teleportation had its benefits.

Jimin had revealed that his room was right next to the staircase, as requested, and the set was already inside. Jungkook had taken an hour-long shower, letting dirt, blood, and grime run off of him and swirl down the drain. He brushed his teeth twice, shaved, and changed into his own clothes. Hair brushed and clean, he finally felt like himself. Things were going to be ok.

There was a knock on his door and Jungkook stood up, wiping his hands on his jeans before going to open it. They were knocking over and over again loudly.

“I’m coming, jeez. Hold on,” he yelled.

It was Taehyung.

“I’m not sure how much you’re going to like this, but Yoongi would uh, like to see you.”

Yoongi.

Oh.

“He wants to see me?” Jungkook echoed. Tae nodded.

“You might want to hurry. He doesn’t like to wait.” Jungkook bit his lip and closed the door behind him. He stared at the staircase.

“By myself?”

“That’s what he said.”

“What if he -”

“Leave the door wide open. If he shows any sign of anything wrong, you get the fuck out of there and deadbolt it.” Jungkook nodded.

Yoongi wanted to see him. Alone.

Alright then.

He began to descend the stairs, one hand against the wall for support. Now that he knew what was down here, it wasn’t as exciting. Jungkook was pretty freaking terrified.

When he reached the end of the stairs, Jungkook took a couple of deep breaths to collect himself. Then he unlocked the door and pulled it wide open.

Yoongi’s feet were laying on his desk, his hands draped lazily over his chest. He raised an eyebrow when Jungkook entered.

“I was beginning to think you’d be too scared to come.”

“No,” Jungkook replied quietly. He was certain Yoongi could hear his heart beating a mile a minute. Jungkook noticed different things about the room this time, like the fact that there was a little kitchen area in one of the back corners, and doors on either side, probably for a bedroom and maybe a bathroom. The record player was playing something old school, gentle hip-hop beats filling the room. Yoongi shifted his position to lean his elbows on the desk. He began to wring his hands (which were still covered with gloves). Jungkook wondered if that was a nervous tick of his. If so, why was he nervous?

“Have a seat Jungkook. We have stuff to talk about.” Jungkook slid into the chair facing Yoongi and attempted to swallow the lump in his throat.

“What do you want to talk about?” Jungkook questioned. Yoongi tilted his head.

“You’ve met the other guy. You had an entire conversation with him.”

“Well, I mean, it was a one-sided conversation. I didn’t say much.”

Yoongi narrowed his eyes. “But he didn’t attempt to touch you.”

“That’s correct.”

“How did you do that?”

Jungkook shook his head. “I didn’t do anything. Maybe he was surprised, I don’t know. But he just talked about all the people he’s killed.”

“We’ve killed,” Yoongi corrected. He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t think you’re understanding what I’m saying. He sees a human, he kills it. We kill it. It’s in our nature.”

“You aren’t the one doing it. You can save. That’s what they told me.”

“I kill everything I want to save,” Yoongi murmured. He seemed to be someplace else. Then he bent down and pulled out two roses from a desk drawer. One was bright red, the other was crumpled and an ugly shade of brown. The flower also had a small slip of paper around the stem; Jungkook assumed that was so he didn’t accidentally bring it back to life.

“Maybe you need a visual. This is alive, and this one is dead. How do you think this rose died?”

“Old age?” Jungkook guessed, even though he knew the right answer. Yoongi scoffed.

“I left it out, and he picked it up. He’s drawn to the energy living things let off. So I’m going to ask you one last time: what did you do?”

“I don’t see what the big deal is. So what he didn’t touch me one time? It isn’t like I’ve come in direct contact with him again.” Anger flickered across Yoongi’s dark eyes, and suddenly Jungkook was being lifted out of his chair and thrown into a wall. Yoongi snarled at him, one hand grasping at his neck. He leaned up close until his face was inches away from Jungkook’s.

“I’m losing my patience Jungkook.”

“Well, we at least are gaining something,” Jungkook replied monotone. He wasn’t exactly sure what compelled him to say that when he knew this guy could murder him in seconds.

Yoongi opened his mouth to say something, his jaw clenched. Then he shut it immediately and let off, resorting to pacing the room instead.

“How hard is one simple question for you to answer?”

“I have answered. I did absolutely nothing. Maybe you should ask him why and find out.”

Yoongi was storming back over to Jungkook, still furious. He pointed a finger at him. “Do not test me. I can kill you in seconds.”

“Maybe you can, but the other guy won’t.”

Yoongi’s fist connected with Jungkook’s jaw. Jungkook let out a loud groan of pain. “Jesus, what was that for?”

“I do not have time to deal with a bottom feeder like you. Knock it off with the smart ass monologue.”

“Just one question,” Jungkook moved his aching jaw around before continuing, “Do you swing that way?”

Yoongi stared at him. “What are you talking about?”

“I was just wondering, ‘cause the other guy sure wants to bang me or something.” Yoongi swung his fist again and this time Jungkook ducked. Yoongi’s fist connected with the wall. He hissed in pain and began shaking his fingers.

“I’m not going to discuss my sexuality with a stranger.”

Jungkook held up his hands in defense. “Alright, I’m sorry.” Yoongi turned towards him, approaching Jungkook until they were face to face again. Jungkook stared at his round lips. If he only leaned it a little more closely...

Yoongi was breathing heavily as he stared at Jungkook. They stood in silence.

And then Yoongi moved like he had been hit with a car.

Jungkook took a step to the side, every inch of his body filling with worry. Yoongi grunted in pain as he doubled over, his black locks starting to turn blonde.“You should probably leave.”

“What can I do?” Jungkook moved closer and Yoongi threw out a hand.

“Get out.”

“Fight it!” Jungkook raised his voice. “Make him go away!”

“It...doesn’t...work -” Yoongi growled and let out a small scream. “like that.”

Jungkook knew he should be running and locking the door. He knew that being in the same room with an insane psychopath was a terrible idea and was certainly not something people thought about doing. But he couldn’t leave.

Yoongi was cackling.

No, not Yoongi.

Jungkook was met with gold and malice.

“Finally. I was wondering when he would let me talk to you.” He smiled and sat down at the desk, propping his feet up. He quickly shed the black gloves, running his hand through his now-blonde hair before reaching for the bright red rose. Jungkook watched as it turned into a crumbling dark mess. “How are you doing today Jungkook? You’re looking beautiful. Cleaner, well-trimmed.”

Jungkook didn’t answer.

He clucked his tongue. “It’s rude to ignore people.”

“I think I’m obliged to ignore crazy sex-driven supervillains.”

Not-Yoongi laughed loudly. “Come on Jungkookie, we all have people we find attractive. I can’t be the only one who wants to fuck you.” His eyes flickered across the room before his voice raised an octave and in a singsong tone, he continued. “Yoongi does too.”

Jungkook’s breathing hitched.

“Yoongi isn’t allowed to touch you because you’re mine, so don’t get your hopes up. Which reminds me, have you thought about my offer?”

“Why haven’t you tried to kill me yet?” Jungkook ignored the question and asked his own instead.

Not-Yoongi gasped in fake horror. “Why would I want to kill you? You’re my play toy. Why would I get rid of something so delicious?”

“You want to kill everything living. Yoongi said so.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yoongi this, Yoongi that. Forget about Yoongi. He’s not here right now. Yoongi doesn’t matter.” He stood up from the desk and moved closer to Jungkook, a large smirk on his face. Jungkook squeezed his eyes shut.

“You should leave him alone. It’s not nice to invade people’s homes. Or you know, his basic thoughts and feelings.” Jungkook was surprised at his own bravery.

Not-Yoongi was so close Jungkook could feel his breath on his face. Why wasn’t he trying to kill him? “Yoongi is weak, Jungkook. I am strong. Whoever is the strongest wins.” He leaned closer. “Yoongi is a dead man walking.”

Jungkook moved across the room in two steps. Agust sighed loudly. “You’re making this so much harder than it needs to be.”

“You don’t own me.”

Bitter cackling filled the room. “Of course I do Jungkookie. Do you think I’m stupid?” Jungkook resorted back to silence. “I have Yoongi’s body in my control, and you want his body. If you do anything with him, you’re doing it with me. So I own you. Besides, I’m not sure if I want my pleasure to be with a little bitch. Maybe stay away from Yoongi huh?”

“You don’t know anything,” Jungkook spat. He took a few steps closer. Not-Yoongi held up a finger.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You know, I can feel Yoongi struggling to take control again. He’s trying so hard, and I think you might be helping. So here’s what we are going to do.” he reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a pocket knife with a wicked smile. Horror flashed across Jungkook’s face.

“Don’t.”

“You know Jungkook, you can say whatever you want but it doesn’t mean anything to me. You’re worthless. I am a god. You are here to do what I say. I say dance, and you dance. I say jump, and you jump.” Jungkook tried to move and he flicked the knife open. The point was placed on the crook of his elbow. He pressed down so hard a few drops of red slid down his arm. “Funny thing, I can’t feel anything. Me doing this, it’s actually pleasurable. It’s sure hurting Yoongi though, and I find that hilarious. Don’t you agree?”

“Stop,” Jungkook pleaded. He didn’t dare move.

“You don’t even know Yoongi. You don’t know the things he’s done, said, written. Why do you care so much?”

“Because he’s just important as every other person on the planet.” And I’m fascinated by him.

He laughed. “You’re pathetic. No one on this planet is important.” Jungkook watched him drag the knife down to his wrist, blood pouring out like a waterfall. It began to spill on the floor. “I know Yoongi. He’s just as evil as me.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not Jungkookie, I’m really not. He’s an awful person who deserves to die. Look at all the people he killed.”

“You killed them!” Jungkook screamed, his anger bubbling out over the sides. “You’re the one doing everything. He’s just trying to live his life!”

The knife dug deeper. Jungkook wanted to throw up.

“The human race is a mess. I can’t believe you’ve managed to keep a conversation with me for this long.” Maleficent cackling surrounded them. It covered every inch of Jungkook’s body, some even managing to soak through his skin. That was Jungkook’s breaking point.

“GET OUT OF HIM!”

He stared at Jungkook, frozen in time. The knife slipped out of his hand, and Yoongi’s eyes were rolling to the back of his head as he dropped to the floor, his hair quickly fading back to black. 

Jungkook was at his side in seconds. Yoongi was unconscious.

But he was okay.


	4. 004

Jungkook knew Jin was going to be pissed at him, but that wasn’t important now. What was important was that Jin got downstairs and stopped Yoongi from bleeding out.

He stared at the black buttons on the panel behind Yoongi’s desk, his eyes scanning the names next to them until he found Jin’s.

“Yoongi? Is something wrong?” Jin answered immediately, his voice thick with worry. Jungkook cleared his throat.

“Jin? It’s Jungkook. You have to come down here right now. Yoongi’s hurt pretty bad and I don’t know what to do.”

“Jungkook,” his voice sounded stricter, “what did you do?”

“Just hurry! It’s an emergency.”

“I’m on my way.”

Jungkook went back to staring at Yoongi sprawled on the floor and crouched down next to him. He didn’t want to touch him in case there was something broken or hurt on the inside.

When Jin arrived, Jungkook waved him over. Jin observed the scene with a sigh before sitting on his knees and wrapping his hand around the cut in Yoongi’s arm. He squeezed gently.

“Please tell me what happened.”

“Yoongi wanted to talk to me,” Jungkook started, hysteria creeping into his voice. “I came down, and we talked, but then he switched over and I was so scared something was going to happen, but I didn’t move. And he kept saying all these horrible, awful things, and then he started hurting himself, because he can’t feel it but he knows Yoongi can, and, and -” Jungkook choked, feeling his throat get stuck. He was trying so hard not to cry.

“Agust D visited?” Jin asked quietly. He stayed calm.

“Yes. And I asked him why he wasn’t killing me because everyone has been telling me he kills everything, and he said he wouldn’t kill something so...” Jungkook trailed off and took a deep breath. “He wants me. Like sexually. And it’s freaking me out. He keeps saying all these awful things.”

“Well, I’ve never heard that before.”

“He’s possessive, and he hates Yoongi so much, he wants to kill him, he tried but -”

“You stopped him,” Jin finished. He narrowed his eyes like he was trying to focus on something. “Jungkook, I don’t know what you did, but I can’t feel him right now. He’s not even trying to take over. It’s like his presence is completely gone.”

Jungkook blinked. “I told him to leave and he did. He left!”

“I think he’s afraid of you,” whispered Jin. He took a deep breath. “You have to stay with Yoongi. He’s safe around you. For now at least. I have no doubt Agust D will try and make a comeback, but for right now...”

“I don’t think Yoongi likes me very much,” Jungkook said blatantly. He looked at Yoongi.

Beautiful, graceful, terrifying Yoongi.

“It doesn’t matter if he likes you or not. You’re doing wonders for him, he should thank you.” He pulled his hand away from Yoongi’s arm; it was sticky with blood. “Can you take him into the bedroom over there? I’m going to go wash my hands and I’ll bring a towel to clean him up.” Jungkook nodded. He bent down and shifted Yoongi into his arms, bridal style.

It surprised him that Yoongi wasn’t very heavy. He hadn’t expected the man to weigh a thousand tons, but he felt light.

Yoongi’s room was just as creepy as the rest of the place. His bedroom was plain - the walls were white and covered in writing. There was an unmade bed, a single chair, and another smaller desk covered in scattered papers. Jungkook laid him down in the middle of the bed, propping his injured arm on a pillow. Then he pulled the covers over his body just enough to give him some warmth. Yoongi’s face was twisted in pain, his breathing shallow, and Jungkook didn’t like it one bit. He sat down on the edge of the bed and gently rested his fingertips on top of one of Yoongi’s hands.

Jungkook looked into the other room at the gloves the other guy had discarded. He wondered why Yoongi kept those on his beautiful hands.

“Here,” Jin said appearing behind them, causing Jungkook to jump. He took the wet towel from Jin with a small "thank you" and began rubbing away the leftover blood off Yoongi’s arm.

“He doesn’t even look peaceful,” Jungkook commented. “It’s like he’s having nightmares. You said he wasn’t fighting the other guy right?”

Jin nodded. “No trace of the other guy anywhere. I can barely feel him right now. That’s a good thing. Maybe he can finally have a break. You’ll stay with him down here?”

“Of course,” Jungkook responded, continuing to gently caress Yoongi’s arm. He wondered if he should put Yoongi’s glove back on his hand that wasn’t injured.

“I’ll tell Tae what happened. We are going to have to do a sweep of all weapons he has in here. Nobody certainly wants that to happen again.” Jungkook nodded. “And Jungkook?”

“What?”

“Next time we meet, let’s have no one be injured, ok?”

Jungkook chuckled softly. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Jin smiled before turning to leave, and then it was just Jungkook and Yoongi.

Alone.

Jungkook stared at Yoongi. The room was quiet, besides the faint beats still playing from the record player across the room. To anyone passing by, it might have seemed peaceful. Except Jungkook knew this place was far from peaceful.

He decided to settle in the chair at the other corner of the room after finishing cleaning up Yoongi. It allowed him to make sure he was ok, and if Yoongi woke up, Jungkook wouldn’t be too close for Yoongi to freak out about him being there.

Jungkook was fascinated with Yoongi. Everything about him was intriguing: the way he dressed, the way he acted, the way he moved. Yoongi was beautiful.

Even now, seeing the way his chest moved up with every breath and how Yoongi’s dark hair was slightly tousled and how his mouth was opened partly and how his eyes were squeezed shut, well, Jungkook couldn’t help himself. He stood up and walked back over to the bed.

If Yoongi knew Jungkook was watching him right now, he had no doubt he’d get punched in the face or get daggers thrown his way.

Yoongi’s shirt sleeve started to ride up when he shifted, revealing his pale upper arms. Jungkook traced his finger gently across his biceps. He glanced back at his face and his eyes rested on the scar, resisting the urge to move his gentle tracing finger down it. Yoongi was wearing all black today. If Jungkook had to guess, he’d guess Yoongi’s whole wardrobe was probably black, which was perfectly okay. That was definitely his color.

A few minutes passed and Jungkook let out a sigh. This was creepy. He shouldn’t be doing this. He shouldn’t even be in the same room with this guy. Yoongi was a stranger, Jungkook had only been here for four days, and Yoongi hated Jungkook. But Jungkook couldn’t leave Yoongi, one because he told Jin he would stay, and two because something could happen and if something happened and Jungkook wasn’t there then Yoongi could die and Jungkook did not want Yoongi to die.

So he went back to watching Yoongi in the wooden chair in the corner of the room. Jungkook wasn’t sure how long he watched Yoongi shift in his sleep or make a small sound or even flinch, but he knew it was a long time. His legs were starting to become numb but he didn’t want to stand up, didn’t even want to move, in case something happened. He had to be there in case something happened.

“Jungkook?”

His eyes flew open and he was stumbling to the floor, head bumping the wall on the way down. Yoongi’s dark eyes stared at him.

“Yoongi,” Jungkook sighed with relief as he rubbed his head. “You’re alright. Sorry, I fell asleep. Didn’t mean to do that.”

“Were you watching me sleep?” Yoongi raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. Jungkook shook his head.

“No, no, I, uh, you -” Jungkook stopped and took a deep breath. He always seemed to be stumbling over his words around Yoongi.

Jungkook was an idiot.

“Jin asked me to stay with you. You had an accident.”

Yoongi scoffed and slid off the bed. He pulled open his closet door and removed a thin black T-shirt from a hanger. Jungkook watched his every move.

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Do you remember what happened?” Jungkook pushed himself off of the floor and leaned against the wall, still watching Yoongi.

And then Yoongi was taking off his shirt, and Jungkook stopped breathing.

The first thing he noticed was the long scar that ran across his abdomen, almost matching the one over his eye. The second was that Yoongi worked out a surprising amount. Yoongi was beautiful.

Jungkook was thankful for tight jeans.

The two men locked eyes for a few seconds, and then Yoongi was scowling. He turned around and slipped into his clean shirt.

“Of course I remember. You were an idiot and didn’t leave. I could have killed you.”

“It wasn’t you,” Jungkook shrugged.

“Stop acting like I have a secret twin or something. Of course, it was me. It’s my body. They’re my hands. It’s my voice.”

“Can you see everything that’s happening when he’s in control?”

Yoongi sighed, twisting his hands together. “Yeah, I can.”

“So then you know what happened.”

Yoongi was inches away from Jungkook, his eyes flickering up and down his body. When had he gotten so close?

“I know you almost got me killed.” Anger flashed across his face.

“Almost got you killed? I saved your life! I made him go away!”

He scoffed. “If you would have left in the first place, he would have had no need to put on a show. I wouldn’t have gotten my arm ripped open.”

“If I would have left, you would still be fighting him, and I know you would be losing.” Yoongi grabbed a fist full of Jungkook’s shirt and leaned in as close as he could without touching. Jungkook resisted the urge to kiss him and made eye contact instead.

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know everything your friend told me about you. You know what he said. I was only trying to help.”

“I don’t need help from a human. You’re worthless to me.”

“But I’m not worthless to him.”

Yoongi bared his teeth, and Jungkook knew he was pissing him off more and more. He was enjoying making him furious. Also, his perfect teeth were adorable. 

“He keeps telling me I’m his. That he owns me. And that’s why he won’t kill me.” Jungkook smiled. Surprisingly, he wasn’t scared.

“I’ll be the one to kill you,” Yoongi spat. Jungkook shook his head.

“Don’t think you want to be worse than that guy, huh?” Yoongi raised his other fist to swing, but he let it drop. Jungkook used his silence to keep talking. “Look Yoongi, I don’t know what’s going on. I’m nothing special. Three days ago I discovered people were living in the woods with these strange powers. That’s freaking terrifying. But here’s the thing. We haven’t even been on one date and there’s enough sexual tension in this room for forty people.”

Yoongi hit him this time. Hard.

“Jesus Christ, for someone so small, you sure have a hard swing.” Jungkook groaned as Yoongi began pacing the room.

“You are quite possibly the worst person I have ever met. Is everything a joke to you Jungkook? Are you taking anything seriously? Because this is serious. I don’t have time to deal with your smart ass replies.”

“I bet you say that to all your prisoners.”

“You know what?” Yoongi pointed a finger at Jungkook and took one long stride back over to him. He went back to grabbing his shirt. “Fine. You want me to admit it? Fine. Ok. Alright. Yes Jungkook, yes. You are a very attractive person. But you have a shit personality.”

Jungkook cheered. “I knew it! I knew it.” Yoongi shoved him away.

“Honestly. You’re a child.”

Jungkook shrugged. “I can see past that facade of yours you know. You act all tough and scary but you are terrified. You want someone to help you.”

“You don’t know what I want. And I’m done talking to you. Get out.”

He didn’t say anything, just held up his hands in a defensive manner, and left the room.

Jungkook didn’t even bother locking the doors.

\---

Jungkook had been wandering the hallways for ten minutes now.

Ten minutes and he still couldn’t find the damn dining room.

He was going to have to make a map or something because this ‘wandering until I find something’ was not going to work. Jungkook sighed loudly as he turned back around. He swore he had already gone down this hallway. There was nobody even around for him to ask. Problem was, Jungkook didn’t want to ask anyone. If he asked someone then they would probably make a stupid joke about humans not knowing anything and then insult him. Probably.

“Hey!”

Holy shit, Jungkook thought. That was another unfamiliar voice. There were even more people here? He turned around to see a small blonde girl skipping his way. She smiled. When she got closer, Jungkook could tell something was strange about her. The girl’s hair kept changing color, cycling through blues and blondes and greens and browns. Jungkook blinked.

“Hello.”

“I don’t think we’ve met! I’m Chaewon!” she held out her hand and Jungkook was cautious to touch her. Chaewon’s eyes turned green. And then blue.

What was going on?

“Jungkook. Nice to meet you.”

“I was wondering when I would get to meet a human! This is so exciting!” she squealed, waving her hands all over the place. Jungkook watched her eyes and hair continue to flicker through colors. “They don’t let me out much because I have a hard time keeping things from changing colors. That usually freaks people out. Is it freaking you out?”

“Nope,” Jungkook lied.

“Oh good. You want to see what I can do?” her smile was so big Jungkook couldn’t possibly say no.

“Sure. Go for it.” And then Chaewon was morphing into a perfect replica of Jungkook.

Jungkook's jaw dropped when he realized he was looking at himself. She had gotten every single thing right down to the beanie on his head. His hair, his nose, his eyes - even the bruise on his jaw Yoongi had given him.

"I have a hard time doing piercings or jewelry, but everything else I can pretty much do perfectly." She smiled. Jungkook shook his head. His voice from her mouth!

"Do I really sound like that?" He asked, unsure of what else to say. This was certainly the weirdest thing he had seen since coming here.

Chaewon laughed, and God, that was his laugh! "Nobody likes hearing themselves talk. Don't worry, I like your voice. It's very nice."

"Can you shape into anyone?"

"Yeah, as long as I see them first. You want to see someone in particular?" She raised an eyebrow, but it was like watching himself in the mirror. He was seeing angles of himself he didn’t even see in a mirror and frankly, Jungkook didn't like this at all.

"Dude, you have to stop being me. This is freaking me out." Jungkook was happy when she laughed again and it was her own.

"Sorry. I know a lot of people don't like that." She then shifted into Jin. Jungkook rubbed his eyes.

"Oh my God, that is so strange!"

"Jin's tall and I'm short, so this is a nice change." Jin's pretentious elder voice was ringing in his ears and it wasn't even Jin.

Then she was shifting back to herself, and Jungkook let out a sigh of relief. Shapeshifter. That was a new one.

"This is what I actually look like, but it's hard to maintain this exactly. I have to focus really hard to keep things normal. I don't even know what color my eyes are. But it is what it is I guess."

"That's got to be useful."

"You should see some of the pranks I pulled. It's the best, especially for some people. Like Jiwoo. Have you met Jiwoo?"

"I don't think so."

Chaewon gasped. "Oh my god, you have to meet her. Come on!" Then she was taking him by the hand and dragging him down the hallway. Jungkook wondered if it'd be weird to ask her to take him to the dining room.

Chaewon pulled open a door to reveal a small gym. There were a bunch of exercise machines and an area full of mats for yoga or whatever else people wanted to use it for. Two people were already in the room: a buff short-haired brunette lifting weights and another short girl with black hair and bangs running on the treadmill.

“This place has a gym?” Jungkook asked surprisingly. He wondered what else it had.

“Sure does!” she grinned, pulling him farther in. “Oh! Sooyoung is here!”

The short-haired girl looked over and a large smile spread across her face. She waved. “Hi, Chaewon!”

“That’s my roommate,” Chaewon explained. “She can adapt from a simple touch. It’s hard to explain, but I’ll have her show you.”

Sooyoung approached them and held out a hand. Jungkook gripped it firmly. “Nice to finally meet you Jungkook.”

“You know my name?”

She nodded. “Things spread fast around here. You certainly aren’t what I thought you’d look like.”

“Oh,” Jungkook replied. He wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not.

“Show him what you can do! His eyes get all big and it’s adorable!” Chaewon squealed, bouncing up and down. Sooyoung nodded her head. She leaned behind and touched the wall, the metal texture spreading up her arm until it was the same material. Jungkook gaped.

“Wow, Chaewon’s right!” Sooyoung started laughing and the color drained away from her arm. Jungkook attempted to wipe the astonishment off his face.

“You can do that with anything?”

“Yep. Wood, metal, mud - anything along those lines. It has to be solid though.”

“What are you guys talking about?” The three of them turned to face the new voice that came into the mix. The black-haired girl wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and smiled politely.

“This is Jungkook. He’s new,” exclaimed Chaewon as she pointed at Jungkook. She then reciprocated the gesture to the black-haired girl. “Jungkook, this is Jiwoo.”

“Oh! You’re Jungkook! Hello!” Jiwoo beamed. Jungkook noticed she was bouncing up and down, but she didn’t seem to realize that she was.

“Uh, Hi.”

“Jiwoo is solar-powered,” Chaewon teased, punching her shoulder playfully. Jiwoo rolled her eyes.

“Not really. But the sun plays a role in what I can do.”

“So, you’re like the opposite of Taehyun?” Jungkook questioned with a tilt of his head. Jiwoo shrugged.

“Kind of. He and I don’t really get along.” She paused to make sure Jungkook was still following. “I can’t control light, but I can capture it, and I have a lot of energy when it’s bright outside. When it’s stormy, it’s like I have a hangover. And Taehyun loves making it storm.”

“Jiwoo makes everything brighter,” Chaewon added with a smile. Jiwoo smiled sheepishly. 

“So Jungkook, have you met everyone here?” Sooyoung inquired. Jungkook shoved his hands in his pockets.

“I think so. So far I keep seeing new faces every day. Which reminds me: could you guys possibly take me to the dining area? I keep getting lost in the place.”

Chaewon giggled. “Yeah, this place is confusing, but you’ll get used to it. I’ll take you.”

After saying goodbye, Chaewon led Jungkook out of the gym and down a hallway. Once again, Jungkook tried his hardest to remember where he had to turn.

The dining room was bustling with activity when they arrived, which was strange because it wasn’t mealtime. Jungkook was curious if something was wrong. He spotted Tae and Jimin across the room talking with Chae, Jennie, and someone Jungkook had never seen before. Guess he hadn’t met everyone.

“I’m going to head back. Will you be ok on your own?”

“Yeah, I’ll be ok. Thanks for your help, and for introducing me to your friends.”

“Anytime!” the blonde reached over and pulled Jungkook into a hug. He squeezed back, surprise crossing his face. He hadn’t expected that.

Jungkook decided that he very much liked Chaewon and planned on talking to her again.

Then she was skipping away, and Jungkook was navigating through tables and laughter to Jimin. He pulled up a chair next to the group.

“Hey, Jungkook! How are you?” Jimin leaned over and patted his arm. Tae raised a hand.

“Is something wrong? There’s a lot of people here.”

“What, we aren’t allowed to converse?” Chae quipped. Jennie rolled her eyes.

“Nothing’s wrong. This is just the biggest room in the building so we usually talk here.” She seemed to notice Jungkook was staring at the unknown face at the table and jabbed a thumb over. “This is Lisa by the way.” Lisa wiggled her fingers. Great, another person that looked like they could beat Jungkook to a pulp.

“Hey.”

“Lisa’s specialty is botany,” said Jimin with a smirk on his face. Lisa grunted.

Jungkook noticed flowers were starting to grow through the cracks where the tables were pressed together. He figured that was Lisa’s work. Which was strange, because he wouldn’t have assigned a power like that to someone as scary-looking as Lisa.

“Plants and stuff,” she mumbled, her eyes looking at the flowers budding off to the side. A loud sigh left her lips. “Dammit.”

“We all know you can’t help it,” Jennie reassured her. "Have Yoongi get his friend to kill them.” Chae and Jennie started laughing and Tae threw them a disapproving look.

“You shouldn’t say stuff like that,” he addressed firmly. The sisters’ laughter died down, leaving the table in awkward silence. Jennie apologized.

“Sorry. That was rude.”

“It’s not like he can stop that from happening,” Jungkook added quietly. Everyone looked at him.

“Why are you even defending him? Humans mean nothing to us.” Lisa’s face twisted in contortion and Jungkook felt uneasy. Great, another person who didn’t like him.

“That doesn’t matter,” he argued, “he still can’t stop it. Nobody should joke about things people can’t help.”

“Doesn’t give him the excuse to act like an asshole,” Chae muttered as she crossed her arms. Jungkook gripped the table so hard his knuckles were turning white.

“Maybe he’s just scared. Ever thought about that?”

“Jungkook,” Tae warned in a low tone. Jungkook kept talking.

“Of course he’s scared. He’s being controlled by something so evil, it puts Hitler to shame. So maybe just lay off, ok?” Nobody dared to speak. Jungkook stood up from the table and prepared to leave. He didn’t want to be around anyone at the moment, especially people that viewed him as unimportant.

“Wait, Jungkook.” Lisa stood up from the table as well and reached for Jungkook’s arm to get his attention. “I’m sorry if I came across as rude. I have no problems with the human race, and Yoongi is a great guy. We all got issues here; it wasn’t right for us to tease him about it.”

The table filled with mutters of apologies and Jungkook sighed.

“Sorry for lashing out. It’s just me trying to get used to everything, and Yoongi -”

“We all know Jungkook, it’s alright.” Jimin stood up as well and threw an arm around his shoulders like some sort of half hug.

When they pulled away, Chae was grinning crazily at him.

Jungkook gulped. “What?”

Chae’s eyes flickered around the room before she leaned over across the table and whispered, “Do you really want to bang Yoongi?”

Tae choked on the water he was currently drinking and crimson spread across Jungkook’s face. Jimin’s jaw dropped.

“Is that a rumor that’s going around?” Jimin asked, mortified. Jungkook wasn’t sure why he was the one disturbed by it; the rumor was about him.

Chae nodded her head, the grin transforming over to a smirk. She leaned back in her chair. “Jin was talking to -”

“No way,” Jungkook interrupted. His hands went back to gripping the table. “No way he started this.”

“Well of course it wasn’t him that started it. Somebody overheard something.” Jennie elaborated. She took a long drink from her cup before setting it down and raising an eyebrow. “I don’t know who.”

“Probably Joon,” Tae grumbled, wiping the water off of his chin. “That guy is always causing problems.”

“He doesn’t like me very much,” Jungkook added.

“Joon doesn’t like anyone very much. Don’t worry about it.” Chae kicked her feet up onto the table and Jennie shoved her out of her chair. She attempted to get her sister back, but Jennie was already taking off down the hallway.

“Bitch,” Chae grumbled under her breath as she rubbed her head. She pulled herself off the ground and disappeared in thin air.

Oh right. Teleportation.

“This is how most of our conversations end,” Lisa said, rolling her eyes. She pushed out from the table and dusted her hands on her jeans. Jungkook noticed vines twisting from under her long-sleeved shirt. They crept in between the empty spaces in her fingers and disappeared under his palm. Jungkook was curious if that ever annoyed Lisa. He figured he would be extremely annoyed with that.

“Hope to see you again yeah?” Jungkook shook the thought out of his head and attempted a smile.

“Yeah. See you later.” Lisa was gone one smile later.

Jungkook decided it’d be better if he sat down. All the anger in his body had seemed to melt away (without Hobi’s help) and he thought he could engage in conversation.

“Heard your meeting with Yoongi didn’t end well.” Tae was staring intently across the table.

“Uh, no. It did not.”

“Did uh, the other guy visit?” Jimin asked, his voice thick with worry. He pulled his sweater sleeves over his hand and one was raised to his lips.

“Sure did,” Tae murmured. He leaned farther over the table.

“He hurt Yoongi pretty bad.” Jungkook began, staring into space. He didn’t want to look at Jimin’s sympathetic expression or Tae’s angered one. “I don’t know if that’s the first time he’s done that, but it was messy.”

“Agust D has never physically harmed Yoongi. It made sense I guess because they share the same body, but now...” Jimin's voice trailed off, and he looked like he was getting ready to cry.

“I think it’s because I was there.”

“No Jungkook, don’t start blaming yourself.” Tae’s tone sounded gentle for the first time since Jungkook had arrived here. He shook his head.

“He won’t touch me, we’ve established that. It’s for reasons unknown, but he claims it’s because he owns me. He’s said he wants to kill before, yet he won’t do it. And today, I scared him away. Jin says his presence is so weak he can barely feel it. He’s not even trying to take over. It’s like he’s given up.”

“But we all know he hasn’t. He’ll never give up, not while Yoongi is alive.” Jimin sighed sadly.

“Too bad Yoongi isn’t going to die anytime soon.” Tae sounded like he didn’t want to say that sentence. Jungkook felt his heart skip a beat. What did they mean? Surely they didn’t mean...

“Are you saying he’s immortal?” asked Jungkook, hysteria creeping its way into his voice. He had to know the answer.

“We aren’t exactly sure.” Tae leaned back in his chair and scratched behind his ear. “The guy’s an enigma. Jin thinks he might be, only because of the way he’s set up. Part of him wants to kill, the other wants to save. How can you kill something that can bring itself back to life?”

“It’s almost as if he’s not alive nor dead,” Jimin continued. “When he was born, he was a normal kid. Sure, his parents were aware he wasn’t human, but they didn’t think what happened to him was gonna happen. But Yoongi, he’s kind of just there.”

“He’s like a reaper,” Tae finished.

Tears were burning at the corners of Jungkook’s eyes. It was stupid. Yoongi was a stranger. Jungkook didn’t know Yoongi. He knew he wasn’t going to have a chance with him. But now knowing he was most likely going to live forever...

Now Jungkook really didn’t have a chance.

Afraid to speak in case he choked and started crying, Jungkook only nodded his head. Tae clucked his tongue.

“I’m sorry Jungkook.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for. He -” Jungkook choked. Dammit. “He’s the one that has to deal with it.”

“Jungkook -”

“I’m gonna go back to my room now. Sorry.” Jungkook forced a smile and stood up. This was ridiculous - he was ridiculous. Yoongi was a guy. One single guy.

Except he was so much more.

Jungkook shuffled down the corridor quickly. He could kind of remember where his room was; you just turned down this hallway, then another, and then one more. Simple. Kind of.

He could feel his throat burning when the staircase came into view. Maybe he should visit.

No. Definitely not.

He’ll finish putting his setup together. He’ll play until he can’t remember why he was upset. He’ll lock himself in his room and spend some time for him; maybe even take a shower or something. That was a good plan. No more thinking about Yoongi.

Jungkook had just barely opened his bedroom door when a hand went over his mouth and he was being shoved into a wall. It was dark too - he hadn’t gotten a chance to turn on the lights.

“Don’t scream.”

Holy Shit.

A million things ran through Jungkook’s head at that second. Why was he here? In Jungkook’s bedroom? In the dark?

Yoongi pulled his hand away, and Jungkook could feel him place it on his chest. What the hell was he doing?

“I’m going to try something,” he whispered. Jungkook wished he could see Yoongi’s face.

And then Yoongi was kissing him.

Kissing. Him.

Jungkook shut his eyes and melted into Yoongi’s touch. He couldn’t believe this was happening. This couldn’t be real. There is no way this could be real. Yoongi was oracular.

Yoongi hated Jungkook.

Yoongi couldn’t stand Jungkook.

Yoongi wanted to hurt Jungkook.

Except he wasn’t. His hand slipped under Jungkook’s shirt and was tracing the defined lines of his abdominals, and Jungkook was tangling his hands in Yoongi’s hair. He didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t want it to end.

Then Yoongi was tugging on the hem of Jungkook’s shirt, and he was pulling it up and over Jungkook’s head, pulling off his hat in the process. His hands went back to touching Jungkook’s chest. They were running over his arms, his shoulders, his chest until they firmly gripped his hips. Jungkook flinched at the pressure of Yoongi's nails and went back to kissing him.

Yoongi slipped out of his shirt easily and began to use all his force to yank down on Jungkook’s jeans. Their kiss became more passionate; Yoongi was becoming more harsh and forceful. He dug his nails into Jungkook’s arms as his pants came off.

And just like that, they stood panting, staring at each other in only boxers in the darkness of Jungkook’s bedroom.

“No sex,” Yoongi said blatantly. “I just wanted to try.”

“Yeah,” Jungkook replied, trying to play it cool and pretend there wasn’t a giant bulge in his boxers and that he wasn't extremely turned on. “Right.”

“But that was nice.” Jungkook’s eyes had adjusted enough for him to see Yoongi zip up his jeans and shimmy back into his shirt. Yoongi cleared his throat and then leaned in close enough for his lips to brush Jungkook’s.

“We’ll do it again maybe, yeah?”

Jungkook couldn’t believe that had just happened. His voice came out squeaky. “Maybe, yeah.”

Then Yoongi disappeared out the door, leaving Jungkook in disbelief.


	5. 005

Jungkook couldn’t sleep that night.

He laid in bed, staring at the blank white wall in front of him, his head buzzing with a million different thoughts. All of them were about Yoongi of course.

It was over before it started, and Jungkook wondered how things were going to be between them now. Had Yoongi waited in his room for him to come back? Had he sat down at his desk and thought, “Wow, I really want to kiss Jungkook and then leave because I’m an asshole,” and then went and sat in his room? Jungkook doubted that had been the case, but it sure felt like it.

He rolled over with a sigh. _We’ll do it again maybe, yeah?_

Yoongi was possibly the most enigmatic person he had ever met.

Jungkook was going to have to talk to Yoongi about it. He had to find out what last night meant exactly when earlier that morning Yoongi was yelling at him.

He had to find out if that was going to happen again.

\---

When morning came, Jungkook left for the dining room, his eyes lining the walls to see if he could find some trace of difference between the hallways. That would at least help him not get lost. Luckily for him, so far he had only gone down one wrong hallway halfway and turned back around before he got lost.

“Jungkook!”

He sighed loudly, knowing exactly who was calling his name. He did not want to have to deal with Jin and his “life lesson” speeches at the moment.

Jin smiled when he reached Jungkook and rested a hand on his shoulder.

“Things with Yoongi went well I assume?”

Jungkook’s face turned bright red almost instantly. “Were you eavesdropping on me? Because I swear to God if you were, I’m -”

“I meant you watching over him. Not the other thing. Which wasn’t my fault? I was just checking in on him, and, uh, yeah.” Jin shook his head. “I was just making sure his vitals were fine. I certainly didn’t expect you two to -”

“That’s enough!” Jungkook interrupted, throwing his hands out in front of him. “Don’t say anything. To anybody. Because I don’t want this getting around. It was stupid. It’s not going to happen again.”

“Very well.” Jin looked around the two of them to make sure nobody was around before continuing. “Is he alright though?”

“He seems to be fine. I mean, I didn’t exactly stay with him much after he woke up. Yoongi didn’t want me to be there.”

“Not surprised about that. But he sure seemed to want you -”

“Jin! Stop!” Jungkook placed both his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want to have this conversation with anyone, much less Jin.

He laughed loudly. “I’m sorry Jungkook, I’ll stop. But if it means anything to you, Yoongi did seem a lot happier.” Then he was smirking and disappearing down the hallway.

Jungkook hated Jin at the moment.

He prayed no one had found out about his and Yoongi’s hookup, because if that did happen, he would be screwed. They would never let him hear the end of it. Jungkook hadn’t even been here a full week; what kind of person would he look like if they found out?

Jungkook approached the door located two down from the entrance to the dining room. He had learned over the past few days that this was Jimin and Tae’s room, and he decided it’d be best if they sat and ate with him. Jungkook didn’t want to eat alone, but he also didn’t feel comfortable eating with anyone else. Jimin and Tae made him feel safe.

After knocking on the door, he took a step back. There was a loud crashing noise and a long string of profanities before the door opened. Jimin stood clad in only a thin T-shirt and boxers, his blonde hair a mess and his full lips swollen. Jungkook raised an eyebrow.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“Nope,” Jimin grinned sheepishly. “Can I help you?”

“Uh, I was just wondering if you wanted to eat together, but it seems you’re a little busy at the moment so...”

“We’ll eat with you,” Tae said as he pushed past Jimin, stumbling to fix the zipper on his jeans. Jimin pointed behind him.

“I'll go get dressed.” he shut the door, leaving Tae and Jungkook in a now very awkward environment. Jungkook cleared his throat.

“Don’t you say a fucking word. I will break your neck.” that scowl was back on his face and Jungkook didn’t dare say anything. He knew Tae probably would break his neck without hesitation.

When Jimin came out fully clothed, the three walked into the dining room. No one was suggesting for Jungkook to sit down, so he assumed they were finally letting him get his own food. How nice.

“Who makes the food around here?” Jungkook asked once they had sat down. He looked at the people around him. Somebody had to be doing it, right? Surely no one had the power to manifest full meals every day.

“We take turns,” replied Jimin. “Tae sets up a schedule for each month. Nobody likes doing a breakfast one because you have to get up early.”

“I usually try to put good cooks with the bad ones. Some people here are shitty at cooking.” Tae added, waving his fork around. “And some like cooking more than others.”

“That’s why most of our meals are basic. Sometimes we send Chae out to pick up a pizza. Those are the best nights.”

“Maybe we’ll do pizza sometime this week.”

“Pizza is good,” Jungkook nodded. “I’ll never turn down pizza.”

“Good, because if you did I might have to kill you.” Tae glared at Jungkook, and for a split second, Jungkook believed he might be serious. Jimin rolled his eyes.

“He’s kidding.”

“No I’m not,” Tae retorted, crossing his arms.

“Tae gets really passionate about his pizza.”

“It’s the only good thing left on this fucking planet.”

“Besides me?” a smirk spread across Jimin’s face and Tae began groaning loudly.

“You’re the worst thing on this planet.”

Jimin gasped in fake horror. “How dare you!” he reached over to punch Tae’s shoulder, and the two of them broke into smiles. Jungkook felt like he was interrupting something.

“Do you, uh, want me to leave?”

Tae shook his head. “You’re so fucking awkward dude. Stop being so tense.”

“How was your evening last night?” Jimin tried to take the conversation down a different road.

“Yes Jungkook, tell us how your evening went.” Tae had a smug look on his face and Jungkook was filled with fear. Did they know? How would they know?

“Oh, uhm,” his voice cracked, and a hundred different curse words ran through his thoughts. “It was alright. I took a shower, finished putting up my sound-proofing, uh, normal stuff.”

“You’ll have to show me your setup.” Tae could tell Jungkook was lying. There were signs of some sort of scheme all over his face and Jungkook knew he had to be careful with his words.

“Uh, yeah. You can come down later if you want.”

“Why not now? We aren’t doing anything.”

“Yeah,” Jimin nodded. “No plans for us today.”

“You know, it’s kind of messy in there, I’ve got clothes everywhere -”

“Jungkook cut the shit. We both know you’re lying.” Then Tae was slamming his hands on the table like on one of those horrible cop shows and Jungkook could feel his heart speed up in fear. Oh God, they knew. They knew.

“Little Jungkookie here got busy!” the three turned to face Hoseok, who was sliding into the chair next to Jungkook. He threw his arm around Jungkook’s shoulders.

Jungkook tried his hardest not to flinch.

“Hoseok, we need to talk about spreading rumors,” Tae said solemnly, sitting up straight.

Hoseok’s face was filled with hurt. “How could you say such a thing? Kim Hoseok does not under any circumstances spread rumors, especially sex-related rumors.”

Tae snorted. “Oh, of course. Sorry I ever doubted you.”

“Apology not accepted. I want to talk to the boss man.”

“I am your boss. You talk to me.”

Hoseok sighed and began inspecting his nails. “Yeah, I don’t think so. You see, you aren’t the boss. The death-obsessed basement hogger who’s banging Jungkook is.”

Jungkook shrugged out of Hoseok’s arm as his face began to tinge pink. He didn’t want to have this conversation. Ever.

“That’s what I’m talking about, Hoseok, knock it off with this crap. Nobody wants to deal with it.”

“I would love to deal with it. I would love to hear every precious detail from Yoongi on what it was like fucking a human.”

“We didn’t do anything!” Jungkook blurted out. “Stop acting like we did!”

Hoseok scoffed. “I’m a lot smarter than you Jungkookie; I don’t know why you think I’m stupid. I could hear you guys last night. It sounded like you were having a wonderful time.”

“Why were you even over there?” Jungkook demanded, his fists clenching in his lap. He hated this guy a lot.

“I could feel frequency from your guitar. I haven’t felt anything that strong in years so I wanted to check them out. I sure didn’t expect to be hearing noises like that.” Hoseok laughed loudly and Jungkook wanted to crawl under the table.

“Why do you assume it was Yoongi?”

“Well was it Yoongi?”

“No!”

“You’re lying.”

Tae grunted. “Hoseok, stop torturing him. So what if he had sex?”

“We didn’t have sex!” Jungkook was hysterical now. Nobody was believing him. “We kissed. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Woah Woah, you made out with Yoongi? This is the same Yoongi we’re talking about, right?” Jimin’s face was full of amazement and Jungkook wished he wasn’t alive at the moment.

“We didn’t make -” Tae raised an eyebrow at the same time Hoseok smirked and Jungkook debated flipping the table. “Fine. We did. Oh well. It happened once and it’s never going to happen again.”

“But you want it to happen again,” Hoseok sang quietly. He cracked his knuckles. “Having sex with him might be a near-death experience.”

“Alright,” Tae declared, standing up from the table. He pointed down the hallway. “You’re done. Get out.”

Hoseok shrugged. “Jesus man, learn to take a joke.”

“Leave.”

He held out his hands. “Alright, I’m going. Good luck with your journey to bang the boss Jungkookie.” Hoseok patted Jungkook on the back roughly and darted down the hallway. Tae sighed as he sank back down into his chair and hit his head on the table several times.

“I’m sorry Jungkook, that guy is a grade-A dick.”

“Whatever,” Jungkook mumbled. He stared at the floor.

“I can’t believe Min Yoongi, the man who spends all his time hiding from people, willingly came upstairs and made out with you. You’re special Jungkook.” Jimin’s grin was huge and Jungkook kind of wanted to smack it off of him.

“Please stop,” he said into his hands.

“Have you guys talked about it yet?”

“Please stop.”

“You’re probably going to have to talk about it.”

“Please stop.”

“Jungkook-”

“Please stop.”

“Alright Jimin, that’s enough for now.” Tae pulled on Jimin’s arm and Jungkook sighed with relief.

“I’m going to go now.” Jungkook grabbed his barely touched plate and left the table without a goodbye. He threw it into the trash can on his way out. That was not how Jungkook expected to spend his morning.

If any of that got back to Yoongi, he was doomed. Jeon Jungkook would be non-existent.

When he got back to his room, Jungkook took a long shower. Maybe he could wash the embarrassment off of himself.

\---

He had just barely finished putting together his sound-proofing and was getting ready to pick up his guitar and try it out when there was a loud beeping noise in his room. He winced. What on earth was that?

“Jungkook? Can you hear me?”

Oh, God.

Not now. This was not what Jungkook needed right now. He was about to play, he was going to let all this stupid stress melt away, he was going to make a lot of freaking noise. Yoongi was the exact opposite of what he needed right now.

“I can hear you,” Jungkook muttered. He hoped Yoongi couldn’t hear him. He didn’t want to talk to him.

“Oh good, it works. Anyways, I’d like to speak with you privately.”

“You know, I’m not sure about that.”

“It wasn’t a suggestion, it was a command.” Jungkook was still looking for words when Yoongi clicked off. He sighed loudly and slid off his bed.

Yoongi was pacing his office when Jungkook pushed open the doors. The record player was playing something with violins today.

He was wearing a loose T-shirt and tight jeans, and Jungkook knew this wasn’t going to end well.

“Hi,” Jungkook grumbled as he made his way over to Yoongi’s desk. He prepared to sit down, but it seemed Yoongi had a different plan.

He grabbed Jungkook’s arm and twisted it behind his back, pulling him close until there were only a few inches between them. Jungkook was squirming under Yoongi’s touch, but Yoongi just tilted his head and smirked.

“We need to talk Jungkook.”

“This is kind of an uncomfortable way to talk.”

“Would you rather do it a different way?” he leaned in until their lips were barely touching, and Jungkook pulled away with a scowl.

“We can’t do this.”

Yoongi raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“Because one minute you’re acting as you hate me and now you’re acting like… like this! We barely know each other, first of all, and second of all, I don’t -”

“He doesn’t like it,” Yoongi interrupted with a sigh, letting Jungkook go. He sat down behind his desk and started wringing his hands. “It makes him furious.” Jungkook let Yoongi’s words process in his thoughts before he replied.

“Because he wants me,” he said quietly. Yoongi nodded.

“He hates me. He hates this. I know he wants to take control so badly, but I don’t know what he’s doing. He’s not even trying. And last night, he was so angry. I could feel it, and it felt so good. He was pissed and it made me happy.”

“So what now?”

“That’s up to you. He’s going to try, and I know it’s going to be hard. But I...” he shook his head. “Jungkook, do you know what happens during sex?”

Jungkook knew plenty of things that happened during sex, but he wasn’t about to say any of them.

“Emotions run wild. I have so many of them at so many times, and I’m terrified that if something does happen and I reach that point, I’m going to lose control, and then he’ll kill them. I’ll kill them. I can’t do that to someone.”

“So what’s your plan then? You want to use me to make him mad so you can feel good about yourself? Is that it then?”

Yoongi’s jaw clenched. “You know why I despise the human race so much? Because they have it so easy. They live their lives, they go to work, they’re normal. They don’t have to deal with the shit I have to deal with. My parents Jungkook, my own parents, were terrified of me. They wouldn’t even touch me. A child shouldn’t have to live like that.”

“Nobody has it easy. We all have our problems. Some humans are homeless, Yoongi. Humans sleep with people for money because it’s the only way to feed their families. Humans who get abused, humans who are starving, humans who are killing themselves. You having powers doesn’t put you higher on the hierarchy. Do you think everyone has a good relationship with everyone around them? My parents were disappointed in me Yoongi. I don’t even talk to them anymore. You want to talk about problems? Sure. Go ahead. But don’t assume every single person has it good when they don’t.”

Jungkook turned to leave. Yoongi was an egotistical asshole and he wasn’t going to deal with him. He didn’t have to.

“Jungkook, please don’t leave.”

He swiveled back around, anger fueling his body. “I don’t understand you, Yoongi. You’re all over the damn place. I can’t deal with it.”

“I’m sorry Jungkook, I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

“But that’s the thing Yoongi! It doesn’t matter if it was me or some other person; you were still going to say it. And maybe they did have an okay childhood! Maybe they’re living in a two-story house on a farm with a white picket fence, a dog, and two kids. Well good for them. They worked for it, Yoongi. We all work for things. You are so filled with self-pity and hate that you don’t stop to see that maybe things are okay. All these people in this building, Taehyung, Jimin, Jin, to name a few, they care about you. They worry about you. They stress over you. Tae does fucking everything around here and he doesn’t complain because he knows you’re struggling. And Jin! Did you even thank him for healing you and saving your fucking life? You were going to die! And he was down here in seconds! He was even checking on you to make sure you were still alright. He’s always watching over you. The man barely gets any sleep because of you.” Jungkook couldn’t hear himself think. He was spitting fire. “Min Yoongi, you are nothing but a selfish, egotistical dick and I’m not going to bother with you anymore. Goodbye.”

Jungkook walked out without looking at Yoongi’s face. He didn’t want to see his expression, because he felt guilty for saying something so horrible, but Yoongi needed to hear that. He took the stairs two at a time, wanting nothing more than to stand and make as much noise as possible. He was filled to the brim with anger and frustration and needed to get rid of it.

He plugged his guitar in and he played hard. He played until his arm ached. Yoongi was stupid. Yoongi didn’t matter. He didn’t need him in his life.

One of Jungkook’s old picks fell from his hand and he accidentally stepped on it and broke it. His favorite played-to-hell pick. He was yelling loudly as he kicked the broken pieces across the room. And then he was turning around and punching the wall as hard as he could.

Then he was screaming, because _Holy fucking shit that fucking hurt so fucking badly_ and he was pretty sure he had broken his knuckles. Blood was dripping down his hand and tears were dripping down his face and Jungkook didn’t want to be alive. He should have never got involved with drugs. He should have gone to college like his parents wanted him to. He should have had better friends. He should have let those stupid thugs kill him because then he wouldn’t have gotten lost in a fucking forest and wandered into an occupied building full of crazy psychopathic people with superpowers. He wouldn’t have met fucking stupid Yoongi with his dark eyes and his long hair and his mystical personality and his stupid evil side.

Jungkook forced himself to go to the bathroom and clean his injury. He focused on breathing as he ran water over his mutilated hand and not the fact that it hurt really fucking bad. He didn’t even have a band-aid or gauze or anything besides the towel he used to dry off with and that certainly wasn’t going to be much help.

His knuckles were starting to turn purple. Jungkook cursed loudly.

He probably should go find Jin. He just didn’t want to be walking down the halls with a tear-stained face.

Jungkook’s door clicked amid his thoughts. He held his breath. Who was that?

He was both surprised and terrified when Hoseok came into the bathroom. He rubbed his head awkwardly and refused to make eye contact. Jungkook saw Hoseok's eyes flicker over his swelling hand and his expression seemed to soften.

“Uh, I could tell something wasn’t right. I came in here to be an asshole about it but something is wrong so I’m not going to do that.”

Jungkook scoffed. “Wow, I feel so honored. Thanks.”

“What happened?”

“Why do you even care?”

Hoseok shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry for being a major dick to you ever since you came here. You don’t have to forgive me, because I’ll probably fuck up again, but at least let me help you.”

“I punched a wall,” Jungkook muttered. “Could you go find Jin or at least something I can wrap my hand with? I’m pretty sure I broke my knuckles.”

“You punched a wall? Why did you do that?”

“For the love of God, please go find Jin.”

Hoseok nodded. “I’ll be right back.” Jungkook sighed with relief when he shimmied out of the bathroom and left through the door. Jin was coming, and he would fix his hand.

Then he’d probably lecture Jungkook, which he probably deserved.

Hoseok seemed to take forever. He certainly did not come “right back” and with every passing minute, Jungkook’s hand seemed to ache more and more. Why did the closest thing to him have to be the wall? Why couldn’t it have been something soft?

Jungkook was an idiot.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Jin was bursting into the bathroom, Hoseok and Namjoon following closely behind him. Immediately Jungkook felt an incoming of tranquility fall over him and he let out a rush of air from a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. Bringing Namjoon had been a good call.

“Jungkook, why on earth did you punch a wall?” Jin was on the brink of a lecture as he pulled Jungkook’s hand out from under the sink and pressed his on top. Jungkook hissed in pain.

“Got angry.” he felt like he was drunk. The others seemed to tell.

“Namjoon, let off a little.” Hoseok nudged Namjoon next to him and the room seemed a lot less warm. Jungkook didn’t feel as calm as he did. He didn’t feel much of anything.

“You got angry?” Jin repeated, and Jungkook nodded.

“I broke my pick. When I was playing. It made me angry.”

“He sure was going at it,” Hoseok cut in. “I could hear it from my room. It was loud.”

“Is that what made you angry or were you already angry?” Jin questioned. He started to examine Jungkook’s in-the-process-of-healing hand.

Jungkook shrugged. “I’m always angry.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Guess you should be more specific then, huh?”

“Jungkook,” Jin was getting frustrated. “Please.”

“I don’t have to answer to you. You aren’t my dad.”

“Kim Seokdad,” Hoseok snickered, and Jin sent him a death glare.

“Then tell me what I can at least do to help.”

“You can’t do anything for me.”

“Yoongi called for me today. Did you know that?”

“Fuck Yoongi.”

“Literally,” Hoseok laughed loudly and Namjoon was flicking him in the ear.

“He thanked me for healing him. He’s never thanked me. Not once ever.”

“Well, I’m glad he did something nice for a change.” Jungkook rolled his eyes and glanced down at his hand. When was this pointless conversation going to be over?

“He also apologized for being rude. He said he had a conversation with somebody and it made him realize he needs to make some changes.”

“Wow. How touching.”

“Jungkook, I know it was you who talked to him. I could see it all over Yoongi. I can see it all over you as well.”

“Jin, I don’t want to do this right now. I just want to sleep for the next thousand years and pretend none of this is real.”

Jin sighed. He let go of Jungkook’s hand and wiped his off on his pants. Jungkook noticed there were still yellow bruises covering his knuckles; Jin hadn’t finished. “Fine. We don’t have this conversation. But I told you to be careful.”

“I am being careful!” Jungkook was yelling, and he wasn’t sure why. There was no need for him to yell. The others seemed taken back by Jungkook’s outburst. “I am being careful. I am.”

“Alright.”

Jungkook rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry for yelling. Thank you for your help. All of you.” Jin nodded.

“Come on you guys,” he whispered. Jin placed an arm over Hoseok and Namjoon’s shoulders and led them out of the room. Jungkook sighed when the door slammed shut and flopped onto his bed. Today had sucked. It had sucked a lot.

Jungkook hadn’t even been here a week and he had to be here for the rest of his life. How was he even going to do that? He didn’t think he could do that. Not when everybody wanted to know his business and he was being snippy.

“I’m sorry,” he said out loud. The silence was his response.

Jungkook decided he was going to take a nap.

\---

The first thing he noticed was how cold it was.

He found himself dashing through the forest, branches leaving large scratches on his arms as he zipped by. There was snow on the ground and frost hiking up trees and Jungkook didn’t know where he was. It was dark and everything looked the same.

Laughter was ringing in his ears and making him wince. It seemed to come from everywhere all at once.

And then he was tripping and stumbling down a hill, rocks embedding themselves into his skin and branches putting holes in his shirt. There was a person at the bottom waiting for him.

Yoongi.

He stood still, his eyes glassy and his face empty.

Almost like he was dead.

Jungkook pushed himself off the ground, groaning with pain.

“Yoongi? Can you hear me?”

There was no response. Jungkook got closer.

“Yoongi?”

“You are pathetic.” Jungkook took a step back as another Yoongi stepped out from behind a frost soaked tree. His hair was long and bleached blonde and pulled up neatly in a bun with a headband around his head, his eyes a bright gold and his scar an ugly red. “You are useless. Worthless. You don’t deserve to be alive.”

“Why are you doing this?” Jungkook asked, his voice raw. He squinted against the wind.

Agust D approached the other Yoongi standing still, and Jungkook realized he wasn’t talking to him. He was talking to Yoongi.

“Nobody likes you. Nobody needs you. You make everything worse.”

“Stop,” Jungkook begged. He didn’t listen. It was almost like Jungkook wasn’t even there.

“You need to die,” he whispered into Yoongi’s ear, and then Agust D reached out and cupped Yoongi’s cheek. All the color drained again from his skin, and darkness began traveling across his face and down his arms following the arrangement of his veins. Then he was falling to the ground.

Dead.

Jungkook shot up from his bed, his breathing heavy. He was covered in sweat and blinked his eyes to try and adjust to the darkness.

The clock on his bedside table read 10:07 pm.

Jungkook ran his fingers through his hair and tried to calm down. It had only been a dream, but it felt so real. He had felt the cold sinking into his skin, the regret, the fear.

There was a knock on his door.

He held his breath and turned towards the noise, unsure if it was real or just his imagination. The person knocked again. Jungkook figured it was Jin coming to ask him why his anxiety had shot through the roof. He was never going to get any privacy ever again.

“Now’s not the time Jin,” he shouted over the knocking, but the person didn’t stop. Jungkook grumbled under his breath as he groggily climbed out of bed and flipped the light switch on before opening the door.

It wasn’t Jin.

Yoongi stood wringing his hands with those stupid gloves covering them and dug his foot into the ground.

Jungkook blinked. He didn’t know what to say. What do you say to the person you screamed at hours earlier? He wasn’t going to apologize if that’s what Yoongi wanted.

Yoongi cleared his throat and gestured to Jungkook’s room. “Do you care if I come in?”

_Yeah, I care_ , Jungkook thought but for some reason, he pulled the door open farther so Yoongi could come in anyways. Yoongi ran his fingers over Jungkook’s guitar while he closed the door and leaned against it. Yoongi looked around the room before his eyes found Jungkook.

That was the moment Jungkook remembered he wasn’t wearing any pants, only his boxers, and he found himself blushing.

“I uh, didn’t know you played.” Yoongi was trying to make small talk and Jungkook didn’t understand why.

“Yes,” he said.

“That’s cool.”

“Sure.”

He sighed. “Look Jungkook, about what you said - I’m sorry. You’re right. I’ve been locked away for so long that I haven’t really been paying attention to anything else. I’ve been selfish, I’ve been rude, and I have only cared about myself. And I’m sorry.”

Jungkook grunted.

“I know you don’t believe me, but I’m going to try to make things better here, not only for you but for the others. I’ve become just as bad as the other guy, and I stopped fighting him. That’s changing. You made him stop controlling for a little while, and I’ve got the reins so I’m going to fix things.”

“People don’t change Yoongi. You don’t need to force yourself too.”

“I used to think everything in the world was a horrible dark mess. I thought nothing in this world could change that. I think part of that was thanks to the other guy.” Yoongi paused to take a deep breath. “Then I saw you.”

Jungkook’s face twisted with confusion. What did he mean?

“When I first saw you, I was trapped away not even bothering to try and take control again. But there was so much energy coursing through your veins and I knew he was going to want to kill you. But then he didn’t. And I know he wanted to. But you were different.” Yoongi trailed his fingers over Jungkook’s arm and began tracing the outlines of his tattoos. Jungkook didn’t dare breathe. “You’re beautiful.”

“I’m not,” Jungkook said quietly, still slightly confused. “I’m a part of that dark mess world.”

“Then maybe we’ll have to get through it together. I’m asking for your help because I can’t keep trying to pretend I’m alright and do things by myself.”

“Together then.”

“Together.”

Jungkook stared into Yoongi’s big dark eyes. They were filled with a mix of emotions, and Jungkook knew he was being serious. He did want to try.

Then Yoongi’s eyes flickered gold and he winced in pain.

“No,” Jungkook started panicking. This was the wrong time. Things were supposed to be better, not getting worse!

Yoongi leaned against the wall and squeezed his eyes shut, not even daring to speak. 

“Yoongi, you have to fight him. You have to try!”

Still no answer.

His breathing was shallow, but Jungkook didn’t want to touch him in case he did switch. His hair hadn’t begun to bleach. “Yoongi, come on! I know you can do it! Just listen to me, everything is going to be alright.”

Suddenly Yoongi looked up at Jungkook with a small smile on his face. His eyes were back to being dark, not a sign of gold anywhere. He had done it.

Jungkook was quick to pull him into a hug and squeeze as tight as he could without really thinking about it. Fortunately, Yoongi didn't seem phased by it and laughed instead.

“He wasn’t trying that hard. It was a hiccup I guess.”

“You still did it,” Jungkook mumbled into his shoulder. “You didn’t turn.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re in the room and I don’t want to have to deal with your smart ass comments.”

Jungkook laughed. “You’re just jealous because I’m wittier than you.” They pulled away, and suddenly Jungkook's back slammed against the wall, their chests touching. Yoongi placed his hand on Jungkook’s shoulder, and silence flooded the room.

“I want you,” Yoongi whispered, leaning in. Jungkook closed his eyes.

And then they were kissing.

It was just as nice as last time; Jungkook didn’t think that was going to be a problem. Their personalities may have fit together like oil and water, but their mouths sure didn’t, and Yoongi was pushing harder and harder as the seconds passed. He was pushing and pulling Jungkook every which way and Jungkook let him do whatever he wanted.

Yoongi tore Jungkook’s shirt off forcefully, flinging it across the room as it came off. The wall was cold against Jungkook's back, but he didn’t care; it only stirred more excitement. Yoongi’s came off next, and it gave Jungkook the perfect excuse to gently nudge Yoongi to his bed. They rolled on together and Yoongi straddled him, their kiss still going strong, fingers grasping, sliding, fumbling. He drew blood as he pulled away from Jungkook's bottom lip and moved to his neck instead. He bit hard underneath Jungkook's jaw, earning him a small moan. Yoongi’s nails dug hard into his arms through the gloves as Jungkook felt for the zipper on Yoongi’s jeans. His hand brushed over the bulge in Yoongi’s pants and he grinned internally because Yoongi was turned on right now so maybe this would lead somewhere. He wondered how far it would go before Yoongi stopped.

“Jesus Christ, Jungkookie, hurry up,” he growled, sitting up and sliding out of his tight jeans himself. He went back to sucking on Jungkook’s neck, causing Jungkook to involuntarily moan again.

Jungkook could feel blood dripping down his chin where Yoongi’s teeth had split his lip but he didn’t care because this was happening right here right now and he wanted to remember every second of it.

“How’s the other guy doing right nOW?” Jungkook asked, his voice sliding up an octave when he felt Yoongi’s hand slide under the hem of his boxers. Yoongi growled again.

“He’s pissed.”

Yoongi was attempting to remove Jungkook’s boxers and Jungkook wanted him to so badly but he realized that one, they didn’t have any of the essentials needed for this to go through and two, that Yoongi wouldn’t want to go through with this because of his fear something would go wrong.

“We gotta stop Yoongi,” Jungkook mumbled as he reached for Yoongi’s hand.

“No.”

“You know this isn’t going to end well. You’re already starting to get aggressive.”

“Let me do whatever I fucking want Jungkook.”

“Yoongi, you know we can’t have sex, you know it’s going to end badly.”

Yoongi went limp and sighed loudly. He sat up.

“I know, I know.” he paused. “I just want to see it.”

“See what?” Jungkook asked, oblivious. Yoongi rolled his eyes.

“Take your boxers off so I can see your fucking dick.”

“Oh.” Jungkook rolled off the bed and shimmied out of his underwear. He could feel himself blushing under Yoongi’s judgment.

“Wow,” was all Yoongi said after what seemed like hours of silence.

“Wow?” Jungkook echoed, unsure of what that meant.

“It’s not bad.” Yoongi was smirking.

“Thanks, I grew it myself,” Jungkook replied and Yoongi groaned loudly. He then was pulling off his boxers and crawling underneath the covers of Jungkook’s bed before Jungkook could get a good look.

“So I don’t get to see yours then?”

Yoongi shook his head. “Not yet.”

“Alright, whatever.” Jungkook hit the lights before crawling in next to Yoongi. They were close, bodies radiating heat as Yoongi pulled Jungkook closer to him.

“I’m going to try,” he whispered. “We have to see how far we can go before I lose it, and take it from there. Tonight was good.”

“Tonight was good,” Jungkook agreed.

Yoongi pressed his lips gently to Jungkook’s forehead.

“Goodnight Jungkook.”

Jungkook wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to sleep tonight.

Jungkook also knew that if anybody found out about this, then he would never hear the end of it.

Translation: Jungkook was screwed.


	6. 006

Jungkook almost screamed when he woke up with Yoongi sleeping next to him. He was sure it had to have been a dream because Yoongi hated him.

Yet there he was, snoring quietly with his arm curled over his head, and Jungkook concluded it had been very real.

He climbed out of bed quietly and pulled on a fresh pair of boxers before groggily shuffling into the bathroom. Jungkook cringed when he caught sight of himself in the mirror. A split lip now joined his black eye and bruised jaw, and purple spots were starting to blossom on his arms where Yoongi had been a little too aggressive. He had faint traces of blood smeared across his chest and upper arms; a string of maroon ran across his collarbone. This was not good.

Jungkook could scrub the blood off at least, but people were going to be suspicious of his lip, and if he couldn’t hide the evidence that Yoongi got, er, harsh, he was certainly doomed. Not that he was going to be doomed anyway, because he sucked at lying and everyone would eat through the bullshit before he could even blink.

“Jungkook?” he turned towards the bathroom door to see Yoongi leaning against the framework, his arms crossed and a smirk plastered on his face. He still hadn’t put any clothes on, and Jungkook refrained from looking at anything but his face. He could feel his turning red.

“You uh, uhm, got a little, uh, blood on me.” Jungkook stuttered. His tongue felt too big in his mouth and Yoongi’s confidence was intimidating him.

“Yeah,” Yoongi nodded as he scratched behind his ear. “I got a little too rough last night.” he took a step forward, causing Jungkook to back up into the sink. “Maybe that’ll just let people know not to mess with you.”

“Are you, uhm, are you, uh, feeling ok?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Jungkook shrugged. “I don’t, I think, maybe -”

Yoongi pressed forward until his lips were resting on Jungkook’s. His hands slid down Jungkook’s back until one rested on the curve of his ass, and Jungkook immediately pulled away.

“It’s morning Yoongi, people are doing stuff, we shouldn’t.”

Yoongi sighed. “I don’t get human contact that often Jungkook.”

“I know, but -”

“He’s trying again Jungkook. I can feel him trying to take control again.”

“Yoongi, when he gets angry you get angry. It’s just one big power struggle.” Yoongi scoffed.

“There’s a difference between me getting angry and me wanting you.”

“But do we even know if it’s you that wants this? Maybe he’s getting inside your brain. We don't -”

“Jungkook.” Yoongi ran his fingers over Jungkook’s biceps gently, that stupid smirk still on his face. “Trust me.”

“But why now? I don’t understand. You were acting like -”

“I know what I was acting like. I had to come across as scary and intimidating. I have to because if I don’t, people don’t listen to me.”

“I mean, you’re pretty intimidating in general.”

“That’s why people do what I say.” Jungkook allowed Yoongi to kiss him this time. It didn’t last very long, for Jungkook pulled away with a great idea raging in his head.

“Come to breakfast today. You’re doing okay right now, you should talk to people.” Yoongi rolled his eyes and gently pushed Jungkook out of the way. He started scrubbing his hands in the sink, the dried blood under his nails running down the drain. Jungkook stared, waiting patiently so he could get more of a view of what Yoongi’s hands looked like without the gloves covering them.

“That’s a terrible idea.”

“I mean, you’re already up here, it’s only a quick walk if we don’t get lost, and then you can go back to the Batcave. I just think it’ll be good for you. You did say you wanted help.”

Yoongi sighed. “Alright, fine.”

Jungkook grinned. “Just let me take a shower. Then I should go find a long-sleeved shirt. And you should put some clothes on.”

“What, you don’t like what you see?” Jungkook was blushing again and Yoongi just laughed. “Kidding. I’m sorry for uh, tearing up your lips.”

“No, it’s okay. It didn’t hurt. Everything kind of happened at once.” They stood in awkward silence before Jungkook was pointing to the shower and Yoongi was stepping back into Jungkook’s bedroom.

\---

“Stop doing that, it’s annoying,” Jungkook muttered as he swatted at Yoongi wringing his hands, his gloves accidentally left behind in Jungkook’s room. They were walking down to the dining room, and so far four people had stared at Yoongi as he walked by. He didn’t come up here that often.

Yoongi groaned. “I’m not used to seeing my hands like this, sorry.” Jungkook shook his head.

“You’re always doing that, whether they’re in gloves or not.”

“I’m just nervous. People are already staring at me. I don’t come up here.”

“People aren’t going to burst into flames at the sight of you, just calm down.” Jungkook adjusted the collar of his shirt and pulled down on the sleeves. Hiding evidence was going to be extremely difficult.

“If I turn up here, I’m going to kill all these people.”

“I’m pretty sure they’ll kill you first. You won’t turn. Everything’s gonna be ok.”

“Wow Jungkook, you’re so encouraging. Thank you. I feel so much better.” Yoongi rolled his eyes and went back to wringing his hands. Jungkook bit his lip so he wouldn’t say anything, but he had forgotten it was torn up and the taste of blood filled his mouth.

The dining room was in sight when Taehyung grabbed a hold of Yoongi’s shoulder. Tae’s face was full of surprise, while Yoongi seemed to shrink right on the spot.

“Yoongi? What are you doing up here?” His voice was gentle; he didn’t sound as afraid of Yoongi as he had last time.

“I uhm, thought I’d come to see how things are. It is my job to make sure everyone is alright, and I know you’ve been doing everything, so thank you. I’d also like to apologize for being a dick.”

Tae chuckled. “Apology accepted. It’s good to see you, boss. Do you want to run through statistics?” Jungkook couldn’t help but notice Tae was staring at Yoongi’s bare hands.

Yoongi nodded. “I would love to.”

“It won’t take that long Jungkook,” Tae added. “I’ll take care of him.”

“He can take care of himself just fine,” Jungkook retaliated, knowing Tae’s plan. Yoongi raised an eyebrow and Jungkook turned away. “I’ll go sit with Jimin.”

They went their separate ways, and everyone was staring at Jungkook as he slid into his chair next to Jimin. Jungkook scoffed.

“Why is Yoongi up here?” Hoseok asked as he leaned across the table. A giant smile was plastered on his face.

“Why can’t he be?”

“The last time he willingly came up here was a year ago, so it’s a little shocking.” Jimin crossed his arms. Everyone was looking at Jungkook like he was supposed to know the answer.

“Well, Jin said he and himself were on good terms, so he came upstairs.”

“Is that also why you have dried blood smeared behind your ear?” Hoseok’s grin turned into a smirk as Jungkook’s face flooded with red. He attempted to scrub it away nonchalantly. Shit.

“Just lay off you guys. He’s not going crazy for once.”

“I wonder if he’ll come to the games today,” Chae spoke up from the end of the table. Jennie elbowed her sister with a scoff.

“He won’t do that.”

“What games are you talking about?” Jungkook was confused, but also a little scared of what that could be exactly. Were they going to go kill people? That probably wasn’t true, but he couldn’t help feeling like it might be.

“Sometimes we have these sparring matches out in the woods. It’s dumb really.” Jimin explained with an eye roll. Chae snorted.

“That’s because you suck. It's a playful competition.”

“It helps us with training as well,” Jennie added. “Having more control over our powers, more physical strength, agility, stuff like that. Everyone participates usually.”

“Besides Yoongi of course. I have a winning streak.” Hoseok was beaming.

“That’s because you’re a giant cheater.” For someone so skinny, Chae sure did have a big mouth.

“Alright Park, me versus you then. If I win, you do my cooking for the next three months.”

“And if I win, you have to take my place doing perimeter checks for three months.” Chae leaned back in her chair and raised an eyebrow.

“Geez Chae, punish me as well,” Jennie grumbled under her breath. Hoseok rolled his eyes and threw out his hand.

“Deal.”

“You’re doomed, Chae.” Jimin leaned forward on his elbows, earning himself the finger.

“Well fuck you too Jimin. I guess I see where our friendship stands.”

“You always have been my favorite, Jimin,” Hoseok said with a laugh as he wrapped his arms around Jimin. When he let go, he turned towards Jungkook. “You’re gonna come watch, right Jungkookie?”

“I don’t see why not.” It sounded fun to watch, as long as they didn’t make him participate. Jungkook would be dead in three seconds. He wouldn’t even be able to get in a punch.

“Don’t worry, we won’t put you in. You already look like you were run over with a truck.” Hoseok’s comment earned him laughter from the group. Jungkook pouted.

“Yeah, well you can thank your buddies for my makeover.”

“I think it makes you look tough.” Tae grinned as he tousled Jungkook’s hair. He and Yoongi squeezed into the table, Yoongi pushing as close to Jungkook as possible. “Like an 8-year-old who fell off his bike tough.” Everyone at the table laughed again.

“Thanks, Tae. I appreciate your help.”

“Sorry Jungkook, I can’t help it. You’re easy to make fun of.” It seemed then that people noticed Yoongi was sitting with them. Their laughter died off and everyone was staring at Yoongi wringing his hands in the corner.

“It’s good to see you Yoongi,” Jimin said after a minute of awkward silence. Yoongi flashed a small smile.

“Good to see you too.”

“Sorry about having to do the brain exploding,” Hoseok mumbled, the beginning of a smirk rising to his lips. He ran a hand through his hair.

“That stuff doesn’t work on him you know. Only me, who’s not even in control in the first place.”

“Wait, really?” Tae tilted his head, face masked in confusion. Yoongi nodded.

“He can’t feel any pain. He’s just the occupant and I’m the vessel. The darkness and loud noises and really trying to hurt him, in general, doesn’t work. It’s me who’s getting hurt.”

“But we’ve taken you, him, down before.”

“Shock. Surprise. He wasn’t expecting it.” Yoongi shrugged. “Anyways, I’m not here to talk about that. How are all of you doing?”

The group seemed taken back by the question. A chorus of mumbled “good” filled the table along with awkward head scratches.

“Anything I need to be made aware of?”

“I can tell you any reported issues sir,” Tae replied. He looked guilty for saying that as Yoongi’s face fell.

“Oh right. Never mind then. Good to see you’re doing your job Tae.” Yoongi looked towards the hallway eagerly, like he was awaiting the moment he could flee to the basement.

Chae cleared her throat. “Uhm, we’re doing sparring matches this afternoon Yoon— er, sir, if you want to come.”

“I don’t think I’m wanted around here.”

“Of course you’re wanted,” Jimin argued. “That’s why you’re the leader. Come on, it’ll be fun. Even if they are stupid.”

“No one would mind seeing you put Hoseok in his place,” added Tae with a smirk. Hoseok rolled his eyes.

“Why am I the bad guy here?”

Chae slapped a hand on Hoseok’s shoulder and frowned sympathetically. “It’s because you’re an asshole.” She was gone by the time Hoseok reached back to get her.

Yoongi smiled. “Ok, yeah. I’ll come.”

Tae slid his arm around Yoongi’s shoulders. “I look forward to seeing you there.”

Jungkook was a little afraid something might happen if Yoongi did these matches. What if he got punched in the face and got so angry the other guy could take over?

Yoongi seemed to realize that. He seemed more nervous than he had before coming here. Jungkook was surprised when he felt a hand slip into his under the table. Yoongi squeezed before leaning over, his lips barely brushing Jungkook's ear. “It’ll be okay.”

Jungkook hoped he was right.

\---

Hours later, everyone in the clan gathered in a giant empty clearing in the forest about half a mile away from the building. There were tables scattered around the edges where the trees started up again; one was covered in enough water bottles to conquer the thirst of an army. Jungkook sat watching as people warmed up for the games. He was interested in seeing what was going to happen.

“How are you today Jungkook?” Jungkook turned towards Jin who dropped down next to him and smiled.

“I’m doing alright Jin. How are you?”

“I’m good. I’m happy to see you don’t have any new severe injuries.” Jin had a smug grin on his face and Jungkook knew what he was hinting at. He adjusted his collar and nodded towards the group.

“Do you participate in these games?”

Jin shook his head. “Of course not. I’ll punch someone and end up healing them instead. I’m just here to help the losers.”

Jungkook chuckled. “Well, that’s not a bad thing I guess. How did you guys find this place?”

“You know the creek that’s over there?” Jin pointed between the trees and Jungkook realized he could hear water trickling over rocks further in the woods. He nodded. “Back when we were getting used to the building, Yoongi would send people out to go see what was around, you know, for security purposes. When it was Soobin’s turn, the first place he went was here, not surprisingly. But this area was nice enough for us to decide to do something with it. It was Chae that suggested we fight each other.” He rolled his eyes in mild annoyance. “But it turned into a tradition.”

“Gives you guys something to do at least.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, it’s better than being stuck inside the building all day. Tae doesn’t let us go out that much. He’s afraid something will happen.”

“I can understand why. But he can’t keep you guys there, can he?”

“Of course not. We go out sometimes, it’s just that some people have a hard time going out and uh, controlling themselves. And some people are just plain stupid.” Jungkook nodded. He couldn’t deny that.

“Hey, guys!” Chae called out from the middle of the field. Everyone turned to look at her. “We’re going to start in a minute, so make sure you’re ready to go.” Jungkook’s eyes drifted from Chae to Yoongi who was sitting next to Tae across the field at a different table. He had changed into more comfortable clothing for this and had coated his hands in the gloves, but he still looked lost, like he felt out of place. Jimin was talking to him, his arms waving all around with that optimistic grin he carried everywhere he went.

“I’m surprised Yoongi is out here. I can tell he’s not comfortable.” Jin’s face was full of concern. He leaned forward, his hands tangling together between his knees.

“You don’t need superpowers to be able to tell that.”

“You’ve been taking care of him though?”

Jungkook nodded. “I’ve been trying to. He came to breakfast this morning.”

“Wow, that’s surprising.”

“I think it was good for him. He needed to know these people still care about him.” Jin shifted his weight and leaned against the edge of the table. He smiled.

“You’re a good person Jungkook. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Thanks, Jin. You too.” Jungkook went back to watching Yoongi. He was wringing his damn hands and had his head down so no one would bother him. Jimin stood up and walked over to where Chae was talking to Kai. They exchanged whispers before Jimin shuffled to the center of the field.

“Looks like Jimin is matching people up,” Jin commented. Jungkook leaned forward.

“Alright guys,” Jimin began, clasping his hands together. “We’re going to start now. I need Hoseok and Chae.”

The group broke out in whistles and cheers as Hoseok and Chae each took a corner. Chae was grinning while Hoseok had the most serious look Jungkook had even seen plastered across his face. They stood waiting patiently while Jimin spoke.

“Ok, remember the rules! The first person to knock the other to the ground for ten seconds wins! This is playful competition, even if it is stupid, so don’t try and purposely harm your opponent to the point where Jin has to spend an hour fixing them.”

“Yeah Yeonjun!” Kai shouted from his seat next to Soobin, earning himself laughter from everyone else. Jimin rolled his eyes.

“Your talents are fair game, as well as anything physical. Don’t leave the grounds -”

“Don’t harm the trees!” Lisa interrupted.

“Don’t harm any of the wildlife if you can help it. I think that’s it. Go nuts!” The crowd cheered and Jimin held out an arm. “Three, two, one, fight!”

Hoseok took a step forward and flashed a smirk as Chae cringed in throbbing pain, gripping her head with a small gasp. Jungkook bit his lip as Hoseok got closer.

“You have a headache, Park? You might want to sit out!” He laughed loudly as he threw a punch at Chae.

But Chae was already gone, and Hoseok was swinging in the air. His smile disappeared as he swiveled around to see Chae standing on the other side. She waved.

“Catch up, Jung!” She grinned before disappearing again. Hoseok didn’t even see the punch coming. He clenched his jaw as the crowd filled with “oohs.” Chae disappeared again, but unlike last time when she threw another punch, Hoseok managed to catch it. He gripped Chae's closed fist tightly, his smile vicious as Chae yelped in pain at the ringing consuming her brain. He then tossed the younger sister across the field like she weighed nothing. People in the crowd were shouting for Chae to get up while others were yelling at Hoseok to "take her down." Jimin began counting to ten.

But then Chae was disappearing and reappearing right behind Hoseok, barely giving the other enough time to turn around before she was kicking Hoseok in the back of the shins. Hoseok gasped loudly as he tumbled to the ground, curling in on himself to recover from the surprising amount of pain. Chae appeared on the other side where she hoisted him up and punched him right in the nose. There was a horrible crack and Hoseok tumbled back into the grass. He growled and wiped away blood pouring from his nose.

"You're fucking dead, Park!” Hoseok spat as he pushed himself up from the dirt. Chae shrugged and took two steps back to disappear into thin air. A loud ringing noise began buzzing around the field, causing everyone to shift in discomfort. It seemed Hoseok was trying to find the right frequency to take Chae out.

"Make up your mind, Kim!” Chae teased as he appeared in one corner and immediately disappeared only to reappear in another. Hoseok growled again. The ringing got louder.

"If only you could fight me instead of running around like a fucking coward!" Hoseok shouted as Chae appeared three feet in front of him. The two both took steps forward and Hoseok threw a punch hard enough to knock Chae to the ground. Chae knocked Hoseok off his feet and climbed on top of him. She managed to get a few punches in before Hoseok was grabbing her arm tightly and Chae yelled in pain. Hoseok had found the right frequency.

"You're going to blow up my fucking head!" Chae yelled, and Hoseok's snarl seemed to soften. Chae smirked and disappeared from Hoseok's grasp. He cursed.

The minute Hoseok had stood up Chae was behind him, using an elbow to shove him back to the ground. She kicked him hard in the area no man ever wanted to get kicked in and threw a punch towards Hoseok's jaw. Hoseok did not attempt to get up.

Jimin started counting.

"Come on Hobi!" Namjoon shouted from the sidelines. "Victory sex! You have to win!"

"Shut up Namjoon!" Chae yelled back. She placed her foot on top of Hoseok's chest as Jimin finished counting.

"Park Chaeyoung is the winner!"

The crowd cheered loudly as Chae accepted the high fives and pats on the back. Jin was rushing over to help Hoseok stand up. Jungkook watched in amazement. If all of them were going to be that intense, then today was going to be a long day.

Jin brought Hoseok back to the table Jungkook sat at and placed a hand on a pouting Hoseok's broken nose.

"You did a good job," Jungkook said encouragingly, trying to offer up some support to Hoseok. Hoseok only scowled.

"I would have won if she wasn't hopping around all over the place. Fuck Chae. Now I have to do her fucking work for the next three months."

"Maybe losing is a good thing Hoseok. You need something to do instead of walking around being a jerk to everyone." Jin pointed out with a smirk. Hoseok pulled away from his touch.

"Maybe losing is a good thing Hoseok," he mocked Jin's elder voice and stood up from the table. "Fuck you Jin." The two watched him stroll over to Namjoon across the field with snickers.

"Kai Huening and Kang Taehyun to the ring!" Jimin called, earning more cheers and whistles. Kai and Taehyun proceeded to their desired corners. Taehyun adjusted his sunglasses with a smile while Kai tugged on his shirt and ran a hand through his hair. Jungkook focused all of his attention on the two boys. This was something he didn't want to miss.

The second Jimin said to start, darkness began to surround Taehyun. Kai was focusing extremely hard on making sure it was only on him.

The sky grumbled above them, letting the group know that Taehyun was attempting to combat Kai's darkness. It started to sprinkle.

"I swear to God, Taehyun if it starts pouring rain I'm going to kick your ass!" Hoseok yelled from his seat. The rain cleared up slowly until it was a torrential downpour only on Kai. The darkness clumped together to reveal a smirking Taehyun. He took two long strides over to Kai and closed his fist to swing. The rain disappeared the minute Taehyun's fist came in contact with Kai's jaw.

"Christ!" Kai called out as he stumbled backward. He wiped the water out of his eyes and took his aim towards Taehyun.

Taehyun stepped out of the way as Kai swung, and lightning struck the spot Taehyun had been standing seconds before, knocking a disoriented Kai to the grass. Kai laid there for about five seconds before pushing himself off the ground.

"Didn't think my method would be so electrifying did you?" Taehyun grinned, causing Kai to clench his fists. The crowd groaned and booed.

Taehyun moved towards Kai, and the two of them disappeared in a cloud of darkness. Jungkook squinted to see if he could figure out what was going on. There was a loud grunt and Taehyun was being shoved out of the cloud, Kai following suit. Darkness clumped around his hands as he uppercut Taehyun, sending his sunglasses flying off his face.

"Hah!" Kai cheered as Taehyun grumbled and rubbed his jaw. Jungkook had to do a double-take: one of Taehyun’s eyes was pitch black, with an iris that glowed like a star. He picked his sunglasses up and placed them back on his face. "Do you really need those Kang?"

"Do you really gotta make your hair look like a curly rat nest? You're already a pest."

Kai frowned and aimed for another punch, but Taehyun had a similar idea. His fist connected with the side of Kai's head, sending the disoriented boy tumbling to the grass. He rolled over with a grunt and tried to stand up, but Taehyun kicked him hard in the stomach, causing Kai to curl in on himself. With one last kick, Taehyun was the winner.

"We can never tell who's gonna win that one," Jin explained as he leaned over for Jungkook to hear him over the roar of the crowd. "They are always switching winners."

"That was pretty intense," Jungkook responded, watching as Kai picked himself off of the ground. He sulked back to Soobin, who kissed the top of his head and threw an arm around his shoulders. Taehyun was proudly sauntering back to Hoseok and Namjoon, who clasped him on the back.

"Soobin and Sooyoung!" Jimin shouted. Soobin kissed Kai one last time before standing up and walking to his corner. Sooyoung had her hair pulled up and was grinning ear to ear. She cracked her knuckles.

"I can't fight her!" Soobin complained. Sooyoung rolled her eyes.

"Are you afraid you'll lose?"

"More like I'm afraid I'll kick your fragile ass."

Sooyoung scoffed. "The only thing fragile here is your nose and I'll break it with one punch."

"You wish."

"Alright guys," Jimin cut in with a wave of his hand. "Three, two, one, fight!"

Sooyoung immediately reached out for a nearby tree, smiling viciously as her arm turned to wood. With a clenched fist she moved towards Soobin.

Soobin stood still, his breathing calm. His hand twitched slightly, the roaring sound of water growing louder and louder.

She came running with a loud growl, her fist swinging at Soobin's chest when a huge stream of water hit her square in the face, sending her tumbling to the ground. Her arm went back to normal and she wiped the water off her face.

"Choi," she muttered angrily as Soobin smirked.

"You snooze, you lose." He moved in closer, the water still roaring behind him. Sooyoung clenched the ground and mud rose to her arm until it was a heavy dripping mess. She yelled loudly, hitting Soobin directly in the nose. He stumbled backward, the water dropping to the ground. He cursed loudly and used the back of his hand to clear mud from his face.

"You might want to take a shower after this," Sooyoung teased and she bounced back and forth on the balls of her feet. The mud drained away slowly.

"I'll help you out with yours," Soobin growled as he flicked his wrist. Water once again rose behind him, but Sooyoung managed to duck out of the way this time around. She ran to the nearest tree and got the needed texture from the wood to slide up her arm. Soobin scoffed.

She aimed for his face, but he ducked, sending a wave of water after her. Some managed to spray her, but most was sent dripping to the grass below. Sooyoung kicked his side, sending Soobin to the ground. She cheered.

Then she punched him smack in the face, Soobin groaning in pain. That was the equivalent of running into a tree and it couldn't have felt good.

"Come on Poseidon, don't disappoint your boyfriend! We don't need a loser couple." Soobin grit his teeth and pushed himself off the ground. It was obvious he was not happy with that taunting insult.

Sooyoung attempted to hit him again but he grabbed her by the arm and shoved hard. She regained her balance and went towards Soobin with another swing. He was able to duck and combated with an uppercut. Sooyoung cursed as she fumbled backward.

"Yes!" Soobin cheered. He swung again. Sooyoung ducked this time and dropped to the ground. Jimin began counting, and Soobin stared in confusion. He looked over at Kai who gave him a shrug.

Soobin really shouldn't have done that.

Sooyoung slid between his legs and pulled on his ankles, causing him to slip and land hard on his back. She climbed on top and used the hard mud on the ground to beat the living shit out of him. He attempted to block, but she was good.

Sooyoung was the winner.

Chaewon and Jiwoo were cheering the loudest when Sooyoung walked back. People started congratulating her, and Jin was rushing to Soobin's rescue with a sigh.

Soobin's face was a bloody black and blue mess, almost every part of him covered in mud. It was smeared on his face, in his hair, and all over his clothes. Soobin was furious, and Kai didn't seem to be very happy as well.

Jimin was already calling out the next round. Chaewon versus Jennie.

Chaewon skipped out to her corner with a smile while Jennie walked with her head held high. This was bound to be interesting.

The first thing Chaewon did was morph into a perfect replica of Jennie. She used her shock to move behind her and get in one good punch before Jennie was using her speed to get to the other side of the arena.

“If you’re doing that, do you have the speed?” Jennie called out. Chaewon-Jennie nodded her head. She was across the field in seconds, matching Jennie’s pace perfectly.

It didn’t last long before she was panting. Jennie smirked and rammed into her as hard as she could. Chaewon-Jennie landed hard on the ground with a whoosh of air.

She grunted as she pushed up, her appearance turning into Soobin. Jennie’s mouth dropped.

“You can’t do that! That’s cheating!”

“We can use our powers, girl!” Chaewon-Soobin replied with a smile. She waved her arm and a small wave of water hit Jennie in the face. She wiped it away angrily.

Jennie hit her again quickly and was on the other side before she could yell out in pain. Chaewon-Soobin spat out blood before morphing into Hoseok. Jennie scoffed again and turned towards Jimin.

“This can’t be legal.”

Jimin shrugged. “She is using her powers.”

Chaewon-Hoseok smirked and Jennie clutched her head. She kicked her in the stomach, sending her to the grass.

“You’re falling behind, Kim!” Then she turned into Jungkook. He was a little unsure as to why she would be doing that.

Chaewon-Jungkook grabbed Jennie by the shirt collar and slammed her into a tree. She was still disoriented enough to not struggle to get away, and she was managing to get in several hard punches. Okay, so maybe that was why.

It didn’t last long and she was changing her appearance again, this time back into herself. Jennie grunted as she let her go and took a few steps back. Her nose was bleeding pretty badly, and she looked pissed as she wiped the blood away.

Then Jennie was a white blur, zooming back and forth and hitting Chaewon each time she passed. Her appearance shifted several times like her body couldn’t make up its mind.

When she stopped moving, Chaewon was bent over, trying to catch her breath. Jennie had a smug grin on her face.

“Are you ready to give up, Chaewon?”

She shook her head. “Never.” With a smile, she turned into Chae and disappeared. Jennie spun in a circle, trying to locate her.

She didn’t see her punch coming.

Chaewon-Chae stood triumphantly with one foot on top of Jennie’s chest as Jimin called time. The crowd was cheering.

“K.O. by your sister!” Real Chae yelled, laughter following.

Jin went to go help Jennie.

The rest of the matches were just as intense. Jungkook watched closely, trying to follow their every move. It was like watching a movie. Lisa went against Tae, and Tae kicked her ass. Jiwoo went against Yeojin and got her ass kicked. The crowd was filled with enthusiasm; people were even calling rematches.

Then Yoongi stood up from his spot at the table and walked to the center of the field. The crowd went silent.

“I want a turn,” he spoke to Jimin, his voice calm. He wasn’t even wringing his hands. Jimin nodded his head, still unable to wipe the shock from his face.

“Anybody want to have a go?” Nobody answered. Yoongi sighed.

“Come on you guys, you can hit me. I’m not going to freak out.” Someone cleared their throat and the crowd parted to reveal Hoseok sitting on the bench with a smirk on his face.

“I’ll take a shot. Got to redeem my winning streak somehow.” Yoongi rolled his eyes.

“Alright Kim, take your best shot.” Hoseok stood up and sauntered over to the opposite corner, the smirk never leaving his face. Everyone on the sidelines was quiet, their faces full of concentration.

“Yoongi is going to kick his ass,” Jin whispered. Jungkook nodded.

Jimin’s voice was shaky as he spoke. “Alright, uh, ready, get set, go!”

Yoongi closed his eyes and breathed slowly. He didn’t move. Hoseok cocked his head as he moved closer, confused about what he was doing. He prepared his fist for a punch.

Yoongi easily caught Hoseok’s attempt, his eyes still closed. Hoseok whimpered as Yoongi squeezed tightly, using his other arm to uppercut Hoseok before flipping him to the ground.

Hoseok cried out in anger. He quickly stood up and growled. Yoongi winced in pain, his hands going to his head. He glared at Hoseok.

“Bad idea,” he muttered as he moved closer. Hoseok took a step back. Yoongi swung for Hoseok’s face but ended up hitting the tree behind him. He hissed in pain and turned on his heel, face flushed with fury.

Hoseok grinned. He punched Yoongi right in the face, a horrible cracking sound echoing throughout the woods. Yoongi wiped the blood away and dragged it down his shirt. His lips turned upwards in a snarl as he charged Hoseok head-on.

The two fell to the ground, Yoongi elbowing Hoseok in the stomach on the way down. Hoseok grabbed Yoongi by the hair and shoved him off, kicking him in the face for good measure. Yoongi was growling again as he threw another punch. He rolled backward and stood up before adjusting his stance.

Jungkook was starting to get worried. Yoongi was getting mad. And when Yoongi got mad, good things did not happen. He bumped Jin gently.

“Do you think we should stop him? I mean, can you feel the other guy?”

Jin closed his eyes briefly. “I can feel him. But he’s just sitting there, waiting for something.”

“What if Yoongi kills Hoseok?”

Jin shook his head. “That won’t happen.” He didn’t seem confident about his words.

Yoongi and Hoseok were still going at it. Hoseok was trying to use his frequencies to give Yoongi a terrible headache, but he wasn’t having it. It was like he didn’t even notice it was there. He was just continuously throwing punches and trying to avoid Hoseok’s fists.

“Hello?” A voice called out loudly from the right side of the field, and a shaggy dark-haired guy stepped out from the woods. He wasn’t wearing any shoes and his clothes were torn to hell. Hoseok used this distraction to get a really good punch into the side of Yoongi’s head, and suddenly Yoongi was screaming, his hair quickly turning blonde. Jin jumped up from his chair.

“He waited for that!” Jin yelled as he tore across the field. Jungkook stood up frantically, watching as Hoseok pulled away and tried to get far away from Yoongi who wasn’t Yoongi anymore.

Not-Yoongi was cackling hysterically as Tae began yelling orders and Jin was shouting for people to back up. Tae grabbed the dark-haired guy from the woods and pulled him to the sidelines where everybody else was. Jungkook approached Agust D without much thought, waiting to see what he would do.

“Oh Jungkook, you’re back.” He tilted his blonde head and smirked viciously. Jungkook felt chills run throughout his body.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Jungkook said slowly, his hands held out in front of him. People around him were staring at Jungkook like he was an escaped asylum patient. He had to admit, what he was doing was extremely stupid.

Not-Yoongi rolled his eyes. “You did a lot of stupid things Jungkookie. I told you to stay away from Yoongi. I told you that you’re mine. And what did you do? You slept with him.” The crowd filled with murmurs and Jungkook resisted the urge to correct the evil supervillain. They slept in the same bed, that was it.

“Nobody has to listen to you. I thought I told you to go away.”

Agust D cackled his bitter dead-cat laugh. “You’re an idiot Jungkook. You are possibly the most idiotic human I’ve ever met, and I’m tired of playing with you.”

What happened next seemed like slow motion. Jin started screaming, Tae came rushing towards them, and Not-Yoongi was reaching out and harshly grabbing Jungkook’s wrist.

Jungkook felt like every cell in his body was on fire. He couldn’t breathe and didn’t think his heart was working anymore. Jungkook was dying.

Tae’s body slammed into Not-Yoongi and sent him rolling across the grass. Jungkook collapsed to the earth himself. He could still see, but black spots were clouding his vision. He couldn’t feel his arms and legs and the only thing he could hear was a low ringing noise. People were surrounding Jungkook, saying things Jungkook couldn’t hear. Maybe he was already dead.

His eyes followed Agust D, who was using a nearby tree to hoist himself from the ground. The tree withered and turned an ugly shade of brown. Gold eyes met his own, and with a malicious smirk, he was darting off into the forest, every tree he touched turning the same ugly shade of decay. Jungkook wanted to scream “come back,” wanted to yell “stop,” or say anything at all, but he didn’t think he had a voice anymore. Nobody bothered to go chase after Yoongi; it was like they didn’t even realize he had disappeared. Jungkook wondered how long Agust D would stay Agust D before Yoongi could take control again. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. Yoongi was supposed to be okay.

Jungkook had no doubt Not-Yoongi was heading towards the city. He was going to go kill people again.

Jin and Tae lifted Jungkook from the ground gently; Jin was yelling something. Jungkook noticed the black running up his arm, matching the design of his veins. It was just like the design he saw in his dream. How had he known that?

He wondered if the process of killing was done in steps. Maybe the brain was last. Jungkook could still think, but maybe his body was dead. He hoped Jin could fix that. Jungkook didn’t want to be paralyzed for the rest of his life.

They had already started the journey back towards the building, but Jungkook was getting tired. He wished Yoongi had finished killing him.

It would have been a lot less painful than watching him run away and not being able to say anything about it.


	7. 007

Jungkook spent three days with his body paralyzed. He laid on his bed, Jin at his side at all times. Jin, who always had a hand pressed against his head or laid across his arm. They had taken Jungkook’s clothes off of him and left him in only his underwear. It gave Jin more room to operate.

Jungkook knew Jin was trying to talk to him, trying to get Jungkook to speak, to move. Jungkook could see his lips moving, could see how beat to hell he was, but no matter what he did he couldn’t respond. Jungkook could barely breathe. The first day Jin had spent all night with his hands placed loosely around Jungkook’s neck, trying to fix his lungs, to which he was thankful.

Jin poured water down Jungkook’s throat and tried to feed him as best as he could during the day. Sometimes Tae or Jimin or someone else would come in to see how he was doing. Jungkook was hopeful it would be Yoongi, but it never was. He wondered if anyone had even gone out to look for him.

The concept of sleep became something lost on him. He found it quite difficult to do so when he had so many thoughts buzzing around his mind and couldn’t say any of them out loud. Jin never slept. He looked dead.

On the fourth day when Jungkook woke up from two hours of sleep, he could hear Jin stirring next to him. He still couldn’t move his arms or legs, but he could hear, and that was a start. Jungkook tried to say Jin’s name but it came out as a strangled moan.

Alert in seconds, Jin leaned over Jungkook and pushed down softly on his chest.

“Jungkook? Can you hear me?” Jungkook let out another strangled moan.

“I know, I know it hurts, but we’re getting there. Everything is going to be ok, I promise.” Jin's voice cracked at the end and he sighed. “I thought you were dead Jungkook. Your heartbeat was so faint, and your eyes looked glassy - I thought he had killed you.”

Jungkook attempted to look at his arm. Black still ran up his veins and he wondered if that was permanent. Jin continued.

“It’s taking a while for your body to heal. A couple more seconds and you would have been legally dead. But you’re going to be okay. It’s just taking a little bit of time.”

Jungkook groaned again and prayed Jin would know what he was talking about. He wanted to know about Yoongi.

“I know you’re worried, but things are going to be okay. Everyone is okay. I don’t know if you remember, but there was that guy in the woods. His name is Jay and he’s with us now. He was lost and didn’t have a place to go, but he’s like us.” Jin took a deep breath. “We still have no sign of Yoongi. We have no idea where he is. Tae sent Chae and Jennie after him, but so far the trail goes cold once he gets to the road. I’m sorry Jungkook. This is not how I wanted things to go.”

Jungkook’s eyes were wet. He wasn’t sure why.

Jin noticed tears sliding down Jungkook’s face. He shook his head sadly and used a finger to wipe one away.

“It's okay Jungkook, please don’t cry. Yoongi is fine. He’ll find his way back home. We are all worried about him, but he’s okay. Everything is going to be okay.”

Jungkook didn’t believe Jin.

On the fifth day, Jungkook could feel his toes and fingers, but his body hurt like hell.

He still couldn’t talk, but he could at least sit up. Jin told him it was all about progress, and he was progressing very well. Tae came to visit, and Jungkook managed to smile. It was a terrible lopsided smile, but progress was progress and he couldn’t complain.

Jungkook was still in bed two days later, but all the feeling in his body had come back. His heart was beating normally and he could breathe just fine. He even had his voice back.

Jin looked like a dead man walking. His hair was a mess, his eyes were dark and his face was hollow. He looked like someone that hadn’t slept in years.

“Jin,” Jungkook said weakly when he came out of the bathroom, “You need to get some sleep.” Jin waved it off like it was nothing.

“Nah. I can’t do that. Not when you need help. Besides, I can feel your worries, your pain. I’m not getting to sleep any time soon.”

Jungkook sighed. His eyes drifted to his arm, where he began to closely inspect the black that lined his veins. It crisscrossed over and under his arm; part of it even ran through his tattoos. It didn’t look like something that could go away with a wash.

“What’s this Jin?” he decided to ask. Jin sat down next to him and reached for Jungkook’s scarred arm. 

“That’s not ever going away,” he said sadly. “You’ll be permanently branded with Agust D’s touch.”

“He could have killed me,” Jungkook said slowly, the realization finally kicking in, “He was waiting to kill me. But he didn’t because of you and Tae. Oh my god.”

“He’s drawn towards human energy, it was going to happen eventually. Tae and I were just doing our jobs. I just can't imagine how afraid Yoongi is right now. He’s seeing evil kill so many people and must be terrified.”

“Yoongi is going to blame himself for this,” Jungkook replied, gesturing to himself. “It wasn’t his fault. I hope he sees that because it wasn’t his fault and I’m so worried about him. Nobody even knows where he is. Do you know how much that scares me? I know he can’t exactly die, but I’m afraid that...” Jungkook trailed off and tried to catch his breath. Jin pressed a warm hand to Jungkook’s cheek for a few seconds. He then grabbed the glass of water sitting on the bedside table and gave it to Jungkook who downed it in seconds. “I’m afraid something terrible will happen.”

“Yoongi can take care of himself Jungkook, don’t worry about that. Just realize that he probably is afraid, and he will blame himself, but that’s not his fault. You and I know that.” Jungkook nodded his head.

“Jin, I know you’re tired and you’ve been helping me so much, but can I ask one more favor of you? It’s been a week and I really need to take a shower.”

Jin let out a small chuckle. “Of course. I’ll help you there.”

“I don’t know where I would be without you. I’m in so much debt to you Jin.” Jungkook smiled and leaned forward to pull Jin into a hug. Jin rubbed Jungkook’s back gently.

“I’m only thankful you’re alive. Now let’s get you that shower.”

\---

It had been two weeks since Jungkook’s near-death experience and Yoongi still hadn’t come home.

Jungkook was still on bed rest, so it wasn’t like he was doing much anyway, but that didn't mean he wasn't worried. Every day he asked Jin what he knew and Jin would say the same thing: there was no sign of Yoongi. Jungkook hoped that Yoongi was okay.

Jin didn’t spend as much time watching over Jungkook these days, as Jungkook was improving greatly. He was able to get sleep and felt a lot better, which was comforting to Jungkook. He also kept Jungkook updated.

“Tell me about the new guy,” Jungkook asked politely one afternoon when Jin came in to check on him. He had brought him a water bottle.

Jin sighed and watched Jungkook twist the cap and drink half of it before coming up for air. “He’s different. Jay’s got weird energy. He’s always looking around and asking questions.”

“What can he do? Anything interesting?”

“Nothing you would enjoy. It’s kind of freaky. He can get inside your head and turn your nightmares into reality. Of course, they aren’t real, but the hallucinations make it feel very real.”

“Dang,” Jungkook replied. He took another drink from the bottle and leaned back against the wall.

“Yeah, it’s pretty dark. As I said, he’s got weird energy. None of us have figured out his personality to know if he’s got the guts to do that to anyone yet.”

“Is he nice?”

Jin shrugged. “He’s not the worst person I’ve ever met.”

“Did you guys tell him about me?”

“Tae said we had a human living with us and he seemed to be really excited about it. He didn’t complain or anything so I think you’ll get along just fine.”

Jungkook nodded. He took a deep breath immediately after. “Have you guys heard from Yoongi yet?”

“No. I’m sorry Jungkook.”

“But do you think he’ll come back? Where else would he go?”

“You have to remember that Yoongi hasn’t left the building in three years. It’s been a while since he’s gone into the real world. He most likely doesn’t remember where everything is, or he’s hiding out somewhere. Every time he takes one step forward it’s two steps back because of the other guy. It’s not anything he really has control of.”

“Do you think Yoongi could ever get control of his evil side? Like to the point where he could shift between the two sides easily?”

Jin was quiet as he thought about his answer. After about a minute he said “I think he could. If he focused enough and didn’t let Agust D overpower him. He’s too emotional. Yoongi would have to clean that up a little before he even thought about doing that.”

“He says he likes when the other guy is angry,” Jungkook confessed. He looked away from Jin so he didn’t have to see his facial expression.

“What do you mean?”

“We were uh, kissing. And he told me the other guy was angry because we were doing that, but he wasn’t, and that it felt good. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I guess it’s easier for him to keep control when they are experiencing two completely different emotions?”

“I can see where you’re coming from. Yoongi was very angry the night Jay showed up, and I could sense the other guy was too. If you’re both angry, it’s easier to get swept up by emotions.”

“But if someone is angry and you’re happy, you’re not immediately going to change the way you’re feeling by looking at that person.”

“Exactly.” Jin grinned. “I think we figured out how it works!”

“If only Yoongi was here so we could tell him that.” Jungkook sighed loudly and ran a hand through his hair. He wanted to see Yoongi so badly. “When do you think I’ll be able to move around again?”

“Soon. You’re doing a lot better than expected. I know everyone will be very happy to see you. I told them about the uh,” Jin pointed to the black lines that ran up Jungkook’s arm, “so nobody will ask about that.”

“It’s weird,” Jungkook commented as he raised his arm to examine it. “It’s weird that it’s there. I’m not freaking out that it's there, but it’s weird. It’s like getting used to having another tattoo or something.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Jin grinned and Jungkook rolled his eyes.

“So soon then? Like how soon?”

“Probably the end of the week. I just want to make sure you’re doing okay and that everything is working properly. You did almost die you know.”

Jungkook groaned and rolled over onto his face. “Do you know how hard it is to be stuck in one place all day? It’s so boring!”

“All I got from that was a lot of mumbling.”

He rolled back over. “I’m bored. I don’t like sitting here. And I want to hit something.”

“You’ll be back to normal in a few more days, don’t worry. Have some patience Jungkook. It’s a good trait to have.”

“I don’t have the patience to develop patience,” Jungkook muttered. Jin shrugged.

“Just a few more days.”

\---

Those “few more days” seemed like years to Jungkook.

The minute Jin allowed him to leave the room, Jungkook was scrambling to change into clean clothes and was barreling down the hallway. The air felt fresher and Jungkook felt so much better. His room was starting to get stuffy.

The first place he went to was Jimin and Tae’s room. He didn’t even bother knocking, just barreled right through the door with a giant smile on his face, which turned to a deep blush when he realized the two were having a deep make-out session and he had just interrupted.

“Fuck! Jungkook!” Tae yelled as he pushed Jimin to the side and rushed to pull his shirt back on. Jimin adjusted his sweater with a smirk and waved.

“Good to see you Jungkook!”

“I’m sorry! I should have knocked!” Jungkook cried as he scrambled to find the door handle. He had one foot out the door when Jimin was pulling him back in.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m really glad to see you're feeling better.”

“Yeah,” Tae agreed as he sat down on the bed. His face was back in a scowl. “Not many people can survive what you did, so two and a half weeks of recovery isn’t that bad.”

“You’re really lucky.”

Jungkook nodded his head. “It’s my fault for thinking I was invincible. I wanted to thank you again Tae for practically saving my life. If he would have held on for a few more seconds I would have been dead. So I really appreciate it.”

“Well, I wasn’t about to let you die. We had to try something. I just feel terrible for not stopping Yoongi. God knows where he is right now.”

“You’re only one person Tae,” Jimin argued as he reached for Tae’s hand. “It’s not like you could have done everything at once.”

“And it was chaotic as well,” Jungkook added. “a lot was going on in a short amount of time. I’m sure Yoongi is okay. He’ll come home soon.”

Tae sighed. He looked down at his and Jimin’s entangled hands before speaking. “He hasn’t been out there by himself in such a long time. Poor guy is probably scared out of his mind.” Jungkook couldn’t disagree with that.

“How did Yoongi become the leader? Can I ask that?”

“Yoongi was around fifteen or sixteen when he first realized what he could do. His parents realized way after he did, and by the time they did realize what was going on with their son, Yoongi had already killed all the plants in and around their house and the dog. They were terrified. But you already know how that ended.” Jungkook nodded.

“He escaped one night several years later and took off running with nothing but a backpack full of clothes and some money he had saved. But he turned when running, and I found him standing over a corpse in an alleyway that night. He was crying. I could immediately tell the guy wasn’t human, so I took him back to my place. It was a shitty apartment on the edge of town, kind of like yours, and it had been just Jimin and me at the time."

"I wasn't happy at first, that Tae was bringing home some random guy off the street. But Yoongi looked so lost and stressed out that I knew we had to help him out."

Tae nodded. "We explained things to him, told him what we were and what we could do. He didn’t like that very much.”

“He’d always leave in the middle of the night and we’d have no idea where he went. Tae and I figured he was going out and killing people or something.” Jimin shook his head sadly. “But we couldn’t contain him.”

“But one day he came back and told us he found more like us, people that could do extraordinary things. He said they were scared and confused like him. He said we should create a safe place for people like us.”

“It was a great idea. So we did just that. We found a place and we fixed it up and we welcomed people.”

“Yoongi was a lot more, uh, in charge back then. But he started doing stuff that we weren’t even aware he was doing. And he got angry.”

“I remember the day he came back with that scar.” Jimin reminisced. “He went downstairs and locked himself away. Nobody even dared to ask him how he got it.”

“We were so stupid,” Tae said quietly. He stared at the wall in front of him. “We should have paid more attention. We should have checked, should have said something, but we didn’t. He left one night and didn’t come back home for three days. We were scared out of our minds. Chae volunteered to go look around town, and when she came back, she had this horrible expression on her face. She looked so scared.”

“'Massacre,' she said. Hundreds of people around the city were found dead and all with the same design clouding their veins. The news called it a serial killer, but we all knew the truth.”

“Windows were smashed; some homes had ‘AD’ tagged on the walls. He killed all those people. He killed and Yoongi had to sit there and watch.”

“Oh my God,” Jungkook whispered. Poor Yoongi. Oh, poor Yoongi.

“That was when he made us put the deadbolt and chains on the door downstairs,” Tae continued, his voice wavering. “He tried to kill himself. He cried for days and didn’t eat anything. Countless times I tried to help but he would just turn me down. He turned everyone down. We were so worried about him.”

“Jin went into his room one day to see him digging a knife into his arm. He had told him he wanted to die, to ‘just let him die,’ but as we already established, none of us are quite sure if Yoongi can die when he can just save himself and repeat the process all over again. But that’s beside the point. Jin healed him and left him to his own devices.”

“It seemed like months before Yoongi seemed calm enough to talk to people. He asked if I could take the lead and of course, I said yes. He was in charge of this operation, he had created it, so I couldn’t say no. The first thing I remember about that conversation was his hands. They were covered in those thick black gloves he always wears and I wasn’t sure why he had those. But he looked so defeated. So done with life that he gave up on trying. Maybe that’s why the other guy has been in control so much recently.”

“You don’t know why he keeps those gloves on his hands?” Jungkook asked. He refused to look up from his own.

“No. He’s never told anyone.” Tae suddenly shifted and put a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder. He pulled away from Jimin and forced Jungkook to look at him. “Did he tell you?”

“He doesn’t like his hands,” Jungkook was calm and struggling not to change his tone, “because he had to watch them kill people.” Tae pulled away while Jimin drew a sharp intake of breath. Had Yoongi really not told anyone that?

Why had he told Jungkook?

“He told you.” Tae began pacing the room frantically. He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. “Why did he tell you?”

“I figured it wasn’t a big deal!” Jungkook shrugged. “He said it nonchalantly like he told everyone. I didn’t know.”

“He trusts you Jungkook,” Jimin said excitedly as he pushed up from the bed. “Can you imagine! Yoongi, trusting someone!”

“You better not let him down.” Tae glared at Jungkook from across the room, not a trace of friendliness left in his voice. “That guy does not need any more letdowns in his life.”

“I’m not going to let him down. I’m worried beyond belief about him!” Jungkook paused to rake a hand through his hair, sighing in annoyance for forgetting to put on a hat. “Did you guys ask Chae to check the news? Anything about murders? I mean, it’s been two weeks. That’s a lot more time than Yoongi’s last escape. Nobody is telling me anything about him and I’m starting to think he’s gone forever, and I don’t want him to be gone forever. I’ve been here a month. Give or take, half that month I spent trying to come out of death, but things aren’t changing and I need to know if he’s okay.”

“As far as I know, there hasn’t been anything about murders. So maybe Yoongi didn’t even make it that far. The other guy could have killed a bunch of squirrels for all we know. But Jungkook, just give him time.”

“I’ve given him time,” Jungkook muttered, but he knew they were right. He had to be patient. Jungkook decided to change the subject. “What do you guys think of the new guy?”

“Who, Jay?” Tae asked as he sat down on the other unused bed. He shrugged. “He’s nosy as fuck, but besides that, he’s keeping to himself. I’m kind of ticked he showed up at the time he did, but that wasn’t his fault.”

“He’ll be nice to you, don’t worry.” Jimin grinned. “He’s been talking with Hoseok and Namjoon a lot if you want to go talk to him.”

“Maybe.” Jungkook still wasn’t sure about this guy. He was afraid he might make Jay mad and end up being terrorized by his nightmares. That didn’t sound like too much fun.

“Well even if you don’t, you gotta leave. Jimin and I were kind of in the middle of something.” Tae said with a smirk, causing Jungkook to blush. He stood up quickly and felt for the door.

“Uh, yeah, of course. I’m going right now.”

Jungkook left quickly.

\---

He never did actively seek out Jay. Jungkook figured he would run into him eventually. Instead, he passed time by aimlessly wandering the halls, playing guitar loudly, and talking to people. Once he even visited the gym, but Jungkook didn’t think he was going to do that again for a while.

Chae updated Jungkook on Yoongi's status whenever she saw him, but there was still nothing.

“Jennie is looking all around the city area, and even in one’s past. She’s looking really hard. Don’t worry, we’ll find him.”

Everyone kept saying that, but Jungkook didn’t know if he believed it.

It was a Tuesday afternoon when Jungkook ran smack into Jay.

He had stumbled backward and apologized quickly, but Jay passed it off as nothing. "Don’t worry about it! It’s good to finally meet you! I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“You have?” Jungkook asked, puzzled.

“Yeah. And I want to apologize for uh, almost getting you killed.”

“That wasn’t your fault. I was just stupid.”

He laughed loudly. “You’re human too. That’s so fascinating. What is it like?”

“Uh...” That was a question nobody had ever asked Jungkook. “It’s alright, I guess. I don’t know. Nobody has ever asked me that before.”

“Would you ever want to be like us? Have cool abilities and whatnot?” Jay was smiling really big and it was starting to make Jungkook uncomfortable. Maybe this is what Tae meant by him being quote “nosy as fuck.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it.”

“You’re living with talents and you’ve never thought about it before?”

“It’s never come to mind. I guess it’d be cool, but it’d have to be something I would like. If I get to choose in this ‘what if’ situation.”

“Do you think the human race, in general, would be better off?”

“Uh, I dunno. I think what makes all these people special is that they can do what others can’t. If everyone can do the same thing, no one is really unique, you know?”

“Exactly. It will deflate some egos!” Jay laughed loudly and Jungkook awkwardly laughed with him. This whole exchange was not the first exchange Jungkook had in mind. “I think the world would be a lot better off if they could do what we could.”

Jungkook shrugged. “I guess.”

“You have to look at the whole picture here Jungkook. The universe is a lot bigger than just us on Earth.” he rested a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder to which Jungkook had to resist the urge to shrug it off. Jay looked behind them before leaning in closer. “What if we could make everyone the same? Think about it. There could be peace. We could all help one another.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m talking about making humans like us. Giving them abilities. Teaching them how to use their powers. Making the world population stronger in defense and intelligence. What if?”

“Why are you telling me this? I mean, of all people. Why me?”

“Jungkook, I have been wandering around the country in search of people like me. I’ve had this idea in my head for years now. I finally find a clan and I find a human, an actual normal average human, living with people like me. You know what we can do. So what if you could do it too?”

“I don’t think I would want that. It just seems like a burden.”

“You said being human was ‘alright.’ We could make your life perfect. We could change the world.”

“But could you even do that? How would you do that?”

“Jungkook, scientists can grow a fetus in a lab. We can splice DNA together. We can grow modified vegetables and fruits. We can put an ear on a mouse. The possibilities are endless. So why couldn’t we do this?”

“I don’t -”

“You could live forever Jungkook. You could be something outstanding.” Jay tapped the side of his head with a finger. “I can see your worst nightmares, man. I know what you’re afraid of. That guy that’s missing? You’re afraid you aren’t good enough. You know one day you’re going to die and he won't. You’re afraid something bad will happen. I, we Jungkook, can change that. You won’t have to be afraid anymore.” He sighed. “And let's be real here Jungkook, these people treat you like you’re lower than them and you aren’t. That could change as well.”

“Are you asking me to be your test subject? Because that’s fu-”

“I’m asking you to be my partner Jungkook. We could fix the world.” He raised an eyebrow and tightened his grip on Jungkook’s shoulder. Jungkook shifted uncomfortably. “Think about my offer.”

With one more smile, Jay was letting go and turning to leave. Jungkook sighed with relief. Jin was right, this guy gave off some seriously weird vibes.

“Oh, and Jungkook?” There was a flicker of something sinister in Jay’s eyes. “If you tell anybody, I’m going to have to do something really bad to you. Nobody likes being terrorized by their worst nightmares, do they?” Then he was shuffling away, leaving Jungkook in a state of shock. That was certainly not something Jungkook expected to hear.

And he was terrified.

\---

Jungkook tried his best to avoid Jay for the rest of the week, and he was doing a damn good job of it. He hadn’t told anybody, per Jay’s request (and for the sake of his sanity) but he really wanted to tell someone how much of a nutcase this guy was.

It was a Saturday when Jungkook was walking with Tae and helping him do some routine management. They were doing inside security checks in the backroom when the heavy metal door groaned loudly. Tae looked at Jungkook for a brief moment before going to the door. He rested his head against it, not daring to breathe. Jungkook held his breath as well.

Someone knocked.

Jungkook shot Tae a look of worry before Tae unlocked the door and yanked it open. Jungkook almost shouted for joy when he realized who it was.

Yoongi was a mess. His clothes were shredded to hell and covered in blood, dirt, and grime. His black hair was matted to his forehead with sweat and he was in desperate need of a shave. You really couldn't sugarcoat it: Yoongi looked awful.

“Yoongi? Oh my god!” Tae was pulling him in and slamming the door shut loudly. He hugged Yoongi tightly.

Yoongi didn’t hug back.

He hadn’t even said a word yet, only looking around the room with his dark eyes and tapping his foot impatiently. When Tae let go, he stood up as straight as possible and cleared his throat.

“We were worried about you. I sent Chae and Jennie out to find you, but -”

“We didn’t make it into the city,” Yoongi interrupted, his voice monotone. “I didn’t kill anyone. Can’t say the same for wildlife, but no people.” His eyes moved over to Jungkook across the room, who was frozen on the spot. They widened and Jungkook knew what he was staring at.

“It wasn’t you Yoongi, you didn’t -”

“You’re an idiot, Jungkook. How many times have I told you it IS me? I almost killed you. You got hurt because of me.”

Jungkook moved closer, his hands held out in front of him. “I was stupid Yoongi, I got too close. That wasn’t your fault. You weren’t in control, you couldn’t make decisions. I’m okay! I’m fine!”

“It doesn’t fucking matter if I wasn’t in control. I realize you’re too stupid to understand this Jungkook, but he and I are the same people. Do you see those black marks that are now running up your arms? That means you were dead. You should be dead. That’s my fault. I have to deal with that. It doesn’t matter.”

Jungkook got closer. “I was worried about you Yoongi, you could have gotten hurt, or -”

He laughed bitterly. “Could have gotten hurt by what, Jungkook? Myself? I’m a monster. I should have never gotten involved with you. I should have never let myself trust you. And you,” he pointed a finger at Tae who was standing quietly next to him, “you should have killed me when you had the chance.”

“Yoongi,” Jungkook begged. He didn’t want Yoongi to feel this way. He was supposed to be making things better. “Please don’t do this.”

“Just shut up Jungkook. You’re nothing to me.” Then Yoongi was shoving Jungkook out of the way and disappearing down the hallway.

Jungkook swallowed his need to cry.


	8. 008

Jungkook didn’t talk to Yoongi for an entire month.

He wanted to. Oh, did he want it so badly. Countless times did he stand at the top of the staircase debating whether or not he should go say something to him, but Jungkook never did go through with it. He couldn’t. He knew how Yoongi felt and it pained him to know he felt that way. He wanted to tell Yoongi it wasn’t his fault, that he couldn’t blame himself, that Jungkook cared so much about him and all he wanted to do was kiss him again. He wanted to see Yoongi smirk and flaunt around with all his confidence. He wanted to be intimidated by Yoongi, wanted to moan his name as Yoongi bit his collarbone and kissed his jaw. He wanted to see Yoongi in all his beauty, wanted to hear his voice, wanted to touch him.

It killed him that he might not be able to do that ever again.

Jungkook tried to occupy his time by settling into his surroundings. He helped Tae do routine checks and create lists for supply runs. He helped in the kitchen to make meals. He helped Jennie and Chae do perimeter checks; they even piled into Tae’s car (Tae made it very clear that if anyone did anything to his car he would “break their fucking neck”) and took Jungkook on a supply run. Jungkook talked to people, he forced himself to go to the gym, he played guitar until his fingertips bled. He needed all these distractions.

His bruises had faded and he was starting to look like a normal person again. Jungkook felt comfortable in his own skin, in his own clothes, in his own environment. But no Yoongi.

Jungkook had dreams. He couldn’t call them dreams exactly; they were more like nightmares. Yoongi was always involved somehow. Sometimes he’d watch Yoongi scratch his arm until he bled and curl into a dark corner. Sometimes he’d watch Agust D murder for sport, his horrible, bitter laugh echoing in the background. Sometimes Yoongi would just be sitting at his desk counting, the record player crackling in the background. Jungkook was confused as to why he was having so many dreams about Yoongi. It seemed it was the only thing he was dreaming about since arriving. Surely it couldn’t just be because he missed Yoongi? There had to be a scientific reason.

Jungkook had so many questions. Probably too many questions.

“You look like you need a drink,” Hoseok had declared one night as he slid into the seat next to Jungkook. It was a little past midnight, and Jungkook was too filled with thoughts to sleep. He had taken a walk and somehow found himself in the dining room, pondering over his questions at a far table in the back.

Jungkook chuckled. “Yeah, maybe.”

“How have you been doing dude?” Hoseok looked sincere and that surprised Jungkook. He shrugged.

“I’m alright. It’s just weird. All of this. I’m still trying to get used to dealing with living here and healing.”

“Then there’s Yoongi.”

“Yeah. Then there’s Yoongi.”

Hoseok leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up onto the table. He took a deep breath. “Can I tell you something Jungkook?”

“Er, yeah. Sure.”

“I was a terrible child. Horrible. The absolute worst. I drove my parents nuts. They would tell me to do one thing and I’d do the opposite. When they took me to church, I used to sneak out and go find someone who could offer me a drink. I craved attention. I slept with whoever offered. I mean, Jesus Christ, I lost my virginity at 15.” Hoseok dragged a hand down his face and stared at the wall in front of them. “They tried so hard, man. They wanted me to be their perfect son. It was always, ‘Hoseok, why can’t you be more like your sister? Hoseok, can you stop acting like a whore? Hoseok, we don’t tolerate that kind of behavior in our household.’ They finally kicked me out of the house.

“I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was fucking 18 years old, I had no job, no house, no friends. I was smoking weed under a bridge and sleeping with people for money. And then, to make things even worse, I found out I could fucking blow people’s heads up. I could interrupt radio stations and explode literally anything. I could change the way things sounded.” His voice suddenly dropped an octave and he looked at Jungkook with large, fear-stricken eyes. “Jungkook, I killed someone. By accident. I got angry. He was touching me, grabbing at me, saying horrible things, and I killed him. God, there was so much fucking blood, and I ran. I ran so fast and so far and I went into hiding. I couldn’t believe it, I still can’t -” Hoseok choked.

And then he was crying.

Jungkook didn’t know what to do. Hoseok, he didn’t cry. He made bad puns and acted like a jerk for kicks. Now he was sobbing into his hands and Jungkook felt so bad. He rested a hand on Hoseok’s back.

“Shh, it’s okay, Joon. We all make mistakes.”

Hoseok sat up and sniffed. He shook his head. “I am such a shitty human being. I feel like, maybe if I can put on this tough guy persona, people will think I’m all shits and giggles. Maybe, just maybe, they won’t see all the fucking pain and fear I have stored up inside of me.” He wiped away tears and shifted his position so his feet were on the floor. Hoseok, however, did not look at Jungkook. “Yoongi, he found me. He told me there were people like me. That he was like me. The guy was a few years older than me and I didn’t believe him at first. It took a lot of convincing for me to follow him back here. Yoongi, he seemed so hopeful. So full of life. He was always smiling and welcoming and patient. I didn’t expect things to go so sour for him.”

“But I met Namjoon here. And he made me feel safe. I felt peace around him. And that wasn’t just him fucking around with my emotions. That was me.” Finally, Hoseok was looking at Jungkook with a hopeful smile. He ran his fingers through his mop of brown hair. “I’m in a better place now. Yoongi? He isn’t. He’s in a shitty place, and I know what that’s like. But you Jungkook? I know you make him feel better about himself. I know he trusts you. You guys have a bond I’ve never seen before. I mean, a talent having any sort of bond with a human? That’s crazy. It’s unheard of.” Hoseok pushed out of his chair and offered a hand to Jungkook. “You guys might be suffering right now, but things are going to get better. Now come on. I owe you a drink.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Jungkook whispered, but Hoseok’s offering wasn’t what concerned him. It was the fact that Hoseok had basically called him and Yoongi soulmates. That couldn’t possibly be true. Yoongi was gonna be around for a long time and Jungkook was not.

“Dude, I just turned the conversation into a sappy romantic comedy. Spoiler alert, but it isn’t going to end with us fucking in the broom closet. Now come on, let me earn back my man card.”

“I uh,” Jungkook paused. “Just, thanks. For sharing. That means a lot.”

“Of course man. You’re family now. And when family struggles, your annoying older brother has to be there to bring you back up.” Hoseok grinned, and Jungkook felt heat surround his body like armor. He couldn’t help but return the smile.

Hoseok’s car ended up being another very nice one and Jungkook was very impressed.

“You do anything to it and I’ll hurt you.” Jungkook nodded his head. He enjoyed listening to Hoseok sing quietly to himself as they drove into town. The radio stations flickered through by themselves until Hoseok found a song he liked, and once it ended the process started over again. It was still strange, even after all that time.

Jungkook stared out the window and watched all the trees zoom by in the thick darkness. The moon was covered by clouds tonight, and the headlights made a thick slash through the fog.

“Where did you get a car like this?” He said suddenly before his brain could comprehend what his mouth was up to. Hoseok laughed.

“It was my dad’s car. I stole it from him.”

“Uh, well, that’s efficient I guess.”

“Where did you grow up Jungkook? Everything around here is stolen. You seem surprised by that.”

“Busan,” Jungkook mumbled as he focused on the rising city lights. He wondered if Hoseok’s idea of a good time was taking him to a club. He didn’t feel like having a drink there. What Jungkook did want was a low key bar tucked quietly away with a TV playing in the corner and two other men playing a game of pool in the other.

“Busan,” Hoseok repeated in a singsong voice. He cracked his neck. “So how did you end up here then?”

“I was an idiot,” Jungkook stated firmly. He folded his arms across his chest and prayed they were close.

“I banged my best friend’s sister idiot or I forgot my homework idiot?”

“Neither. I got involved in the drug trade. Stupid. I was stupid, it was stupid, everything was stupid.”

“Doing drugs doesn’t make you an idiot Jungkook, it makes you a normal person. Man, the amount of weed I’ve smoked would blow-”

“It’s not that, Hoseok, it’s the fact that I helped carry illegal drugs across Korea and when I tried to get out of it they beat me up and threatened to kill my family. That’s what makes me an idiot.”

“So you went into hiding then.” All traces of snarkiness had left Hoseok’s voice.

“Yeah. Five years and they found me. But then I found you guys.”

“That’s what you were doing when we found you? Hiding?”

Jungkook nodded. They were in the city now; Hoseok was making a turn down a shady-looking street.

“Uhm, we’re almost there. It’s a quiet place. We can talk.”

“I’ve got questions.”

“You can ask them all.”

\---

“How does the ‘powers’ thing work?” Jungkook asked the minute they had sat down at the bar and the bartender had set down two beers. Hoseok was already chugging his; Jungkook hadn’t touched it.

Hoseok wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and slammed the bottle down on the countertop. He tilted his head to the side. “That’s kind of a vague question.”

“Well you said you found out you could do weird stuff at 18, Yoongi found out at 16... how does that work? Do you know you’re not human?”

“Ahh.” he stroked his chin for a few seconds before taking another drink. Jungkook attempted to drink his; he never had been a fan of alcohol in general but he wanted to feel a little bit tipsy - it’d probably make him feel a lot better. “It depends. Families, they’re aware, but it could happen to anyone and it doesn’t happen to everyone. Every one of our species has advanced eyesight and hearing, you know, the basics. But the talent thing, it skips around. It skipped a generation in my family. My parents and their siblings couldn’t do anything. I don’t think my sister got anything. We were never taught it was going to happen to us. I guess my parents didn’t think it would. But it did, and God did it freak me out.”

“Probably freaked Yoongi out too,” Jungkook added. He took a very long swig, Hoseok keeping a close watch on him.

“No shit Sherlock, everything the guy touches dies.”

“But he can bring stuff back to life. That’s helpful. He could save lives or something.”

“And that doesn’t seem shady to you? It’s upsetting the natural balance of the universe. Creatures die every day, but nothing comes back to life. There’s a catch Jungkook. Yoongi, he knows what that catch is, but the man ain’t about to tell any of us.” Hoseok finished off his beer and waved the bartender over for another one. “I feel guilty you know. For making him so angry at the match. I was being cocky, I should have thought things through, and you could have died. Jesus Christ man, you could have died!”

Jungkook glanced down at his arm with the dark scarring and sighed. “I didn’t die. It wasn’t your fault. It was nobody’s fault but mine. End of discussion.” Hoseok shrugged and tugged the sleeves of his jacket further over his hands. “I have another question.”

“Ask away.”

“Do you guys, er...” Jungkook paused. He was racking his brain to figure out how he wanted to phrase this next sentence. “Are there things you are capable of doing but haven’t reached the ability to do it yet?”

“Well duh. It’s like learning how to drive a car. You have to practice control and safety before you can do doughnuts in the parking lot.” Hoseok scratched behind his ear and watched a car pass out in front of the bar. “I’m still learning Jungkook. There are things I can do that I don’t know I can do yet. It takes years and years of practice.”

“Next question. You said humans and talents didn’t interact with one another. Is that because you guys stay secret? Has no one really ever interacted or got into a relationship with a human?”

“A lot of talents believe they are superior to human beings just because of what they can do. Even the ones without powers. We thrived differently than the human race did and we benefited from it. There was no need to interact with them.”

“What if a human and a talent had a child? What would happen then?”

“I guess it would be up to the DNA coding. The child would probably be sterile and not live very long. It’s like creating a Liger. You aren’t meant to mix and match species. A frog can’t mate with a bear and expect to have a healthy child.”

Jungkook nodded his head in agreement. It made sense. He opened his mouth to talk, but Hoseok beat him to it. “Are you worried Jungkook?”

His face twisted in contortion. “Worried about what?”

“You and Yoongi. Where things could go. Jay said you were worried about that.”

“He told you that?” Jungkook didn’t like that. He was very upset about that.

“He told me you’ve been having nightmares. I’m sorry, I know those are personal, and I’m not going to share them with anyone.” He paused to take a drink and Jungkook could feel his left eye twitching. I guess nothing was private after all. “You guys can’t have sex then?”

And now Jungkook was not only angry but was also embarrassed as hell. He also somehow felt compelled to talk to Hoseok about it. Who knew, maybe it would help.

“Yoongi’s afraid he’ll switch in the middle of something. He doesn’t want to be responsible for killing someone.”

“And that someone is you.”

“Uh, maybe. He gets aggressive. I don’t know if this is even what he wants. It could be the other guy messing with his brain, getting into his thoughts, stuff like that. I’m confused about the whole situation. It’s like the two of them are bipolar or something. Yoongi acts one way, then he acts the opposite way. Agust D won’t kill me and then he tries to. I don’t understand what’s going on.”

“That first night you guys made out, who brought that out?”

“Yoongi was in my room. He said he wanted to try something.”

“He gets aggressive?”

“Always manages to tear something. D, he doesn’t like it. He hates Yoongi, yet he has this weird possessive thing over him. He doesn’t want Yoongi to be with anyone. And then he said he owned me, and if I did anything with Yoongi it would end badly. We already saw he kept his promise.”

Hoseok began rolling a piece of torn off napkin in between his thumb and forefinger. “Yoongi doesn’t do relationships man. He does one night stands. He gets in and gets out. Then you come along, and suddenly our dear leader is interested in the pretty boy upstairs. Yoongi is showing interest. He’s feeling something. Mr. Evil Super Villain doesn’t like that. He likes it when people leave Yoongi.”

“But I’m not leaving,” Jungkook finished quietly.

“He’s evil, but he’s not stupid. He sees where things are going. He’s scared. Scared Yoongi might get control. So first he plays decoy. He makes Jin and Yoongi and you think he’s backing off. Then he strikes. You haven’t talked to Yoongi since then. He probably thinks Yoongi is safe. Yoongi is his. Yoongi isn’t going to fight anymore.”

“He’s in charge.”

“Jackpot. Things are back to normal. Except wait! You’re still here.”

“You think the moment he sees me Yoongi will change?”

“I think a lot of shit is going to happen. The kid’s been raging in a civil war with himself for years. Now there’s a new ally being thrown into the mix.” Hoseok leaned forward on his elbows. “Yoongi enjoys making the asshole angry because then he feels like he’s in charge. He’s got a lot of bite for his bark. Agust D feels threatened by you Jungkook. I think having sex could be the best thing you do.” He rolled his shoulders and flashed a smirk. “But that’s just my opinion.”

Jungkook thought about Hoseok’s words a lot after that night. Not only about Yoongi, but about adaption, control, and progress. There were things these people could do and they didn’t even know it yet.

Even with one of his problems solved, he still had several left over. The dreams were getting worse, and he knew for a fact he couldn’t be making that stuff up on his own. The worst part was that they felt so real. It was getting to the point where Jungkook was afraid of going to sleep. He was starting to look like shit and people could tell.

Especially Jin.

Jungkook had been minding his own business when Jin pulled him into his bedroom and locked the door behind them. He pushed Jungkook down on the bed and began pacing back and forth as he chewed on his nails. Jungkook stared at him. He was too tired to fight Jin on whatever was about to come out of his mouth.

“You aren’t sleeping.” He pointed a finger at Jungkook, his face masked with worry. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“You’re the genius, figure it out.”

Jin rolled his eyes. “You don’t need to be a jerk about it. I know things with Yoongi aren’t ideal at the moment, but-”

“Aren’t ideal? Jin, I haven’t talked to him in a month. Things haven’t ever been ideal.”

“Then what’s the problem? You’re knee-deep in thinking.”

Jungkook sighed. “I’m having nightmares. Terrible freaking nightmares and they never end Jin. I can’t sleep because of them and I’m afraid to sleep because I know I’ll be woken up by another one. And they are all so terrible.”

“Well you’re still getting used to living here, maybe that’s why.”

“Mm, don’t think so. You see, there’s one very important factor in these dreams. They all involve Yoongi. But they aren't wet dreams, they're a fucking massacre.” Jin’s face filled with sympathy and he sat down on the bed next to Jungkook.

“Explain them to me.”

“Well, I had one the day I came here. I was chained to the wall and Yoongi, not Yoongi, was laughing. Then he killed me. Then, I had a dream I was out in the woods, and Yoongi and Agust D were separate people. Then he killed Yoongi, and the whole vein thing happened. Except Jin, that happened before I almost died. How could I have known that?” Jungkook shook his head. “Sometimes I’m watching Yoongi hurt himself in his room. Sometimes I’m watching the other guy kill, and he’s laughing loudly. I just had one where I was looking at myself in the mirror, except it wasn’t me, it was frickin’ Yoongi. And he looked dead to the world. I don’t understand what the hell is going on Jin. Could you explain this to me?”

Jin was quiet. He was trying to figure out a meaning, Jungkook guessed. He hoped Jin knew because he didn’t want to be stuck watching Yoongi die or hurt himself. It was torture.

He still hadn’t said anything so Jungkook said something else. “Hoseok said there were things you guys could do that you didn’t know yet. Do you think this might be something?”

“It doesn’t make any sense. Nobody around here can mess around with dreams. Except for Jay, but I don’t think he’s doing this. How would he know about all of this?”

“The only person who does is Yoongi.”

“You should talk to him,” Jin said quietly and Jungkook looked at him like he was crazy.

“Are you stupid? That’s not going to happen.”

“Look at yourself Jungkook. You look like you climbed out of a coffin and walked 200 kilometers in the burning heat. I think this is your brain telling you to make amends so you can get some rest.”

“Okay but that still doesn’t explain how I knew about the scarring before I practically died.”

“You probably saw something and you don’t remember it. Stuff like that happens all the time.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes with a long, over the top sigh and stood up. “I’m not talking to Yoongi. That’s suicidal.”

Jin crossed his arms and stood up straight. He really looked like an angry parent now. “And why is that?”

“Hoseok thinks Agust D believes he’s won and that I’m gone for good. He thinks that when Yoongi sees me, all hell is going to break loose.”

“Hoseok said that? Really?”

“Scouts honor. He said a lot of stuff that made a lot of sense.”

“Yoongi’s given up Jungkook, didn’t know if you knew that or not. I visited him the other day. The doors are bolted shut and he’s just laying in his office chair doing nothing. He’s probably spending more time as the evil supervillain than himself these days.”

Jungkook scowled. “And you want me to go talk to him? Are you an idiot? Last time we talked he fucking killed me.”

“It takes Yoongi a lot of strength to turn back to himself. He has to will himself. He has to fight. He might do that if he sees you.”

“He’s going to go AWOL if he sees me.”

“I’m trying to offer you a solution to your problem. If you don’t want to take my help, then don’t. It’s not up to me. I’m just trying to be reasonable. I want you to feel comfortable. I want to protect you. That’s my job.”

“It isn’t your job Jin! I’m a grown man, I can take care of myself. I don’t know what compelled you to start acting like you’re my father, but you gotta cut the crap. I don’t want you to be my dad. My dad hates me. I want you to be my friend. So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to leave now.” He pushed past Jin with a clenched jaw and threw the door wide open so it banged against the wall.

Jungkook didn’t do much the rest of the day, but he did try to keep himself awake. He downed three cups of coffee, played guitar for an hour, and walked around the building, trying to stop and talk to everyone he ran into. But eventually, Jungkook found himself back in his bedroom, his eyelids drooping shut, and he was falling asleep.

\---

Next thing he knew he was standing in an apartment building, police sirens echoing loudly outside. There was a slight, cool breeze; the windows were smashed revealing he was standing on the fifth floor. When Jungkook looked down, he realized there was a can of yellow spray paint in his hand, and the fresh fumes were strong.

On the wall in front of him was written ‘WHOS THE KING? - AD’ and personally Jungkook found that to be a bit tacky.

But then he was moving, and he couldn’t control where he went. It was like he was watching a movie up close and personal. He turned the corner into a bedroom, and laid across the bed was a family: A mother, father, and three children, a boy and two girls. Their eyes were glassy, and the dark scarring ran across faces, arms, and legs.

Dead. All of them were dead.

There was cackling laughter that Jungkook recognized immediately. That was when he realized who he was.

It was the massacre.

Agust D drew a weird symbol on the bedroom wall before dropping the can on the ground and kicking it away with his foot. He pulled a pocket knife from his jeans and approached the dead father draped across the bed. Jungkook couldn’t look. He tried to close his eyes but he couldn’t, because he couldn’t control his own body and it wasn’t even him, it was the evil supervillain side of Yoongi who was slaughtering people.

He made a slit in the father’s arm and let the blood drain out onto his hands. And then he began coating his hands in it. Jungkook wanted to puke. Agust D did the same thing with the mother and children before leaving the bedroom and going to the wall where he had left his tag. He went to work on covering the wall in bloody handprints.

Jungkook woke up.

His room was dark and he couldn’t breathe. His heart was pounding a mile per minute and he was drenched in sweat. Not to mention that Jungkook was freaking terrified. There was absolutely no way he could have made that up. That was stuff you had to see to remember, and he was pretty sure he knew who remembered it.

Not that he was going to go talk to him. No, Jungkook wasn’t stupid. Instead, he was going to try and forget and go back to sleep. It didn’t take him very long before he was out cold.

This time, he was in a different place.

He sat on a bed covered in a black and blue plaid comforter, wringing his hands. The room had white walls; there was a desk against one wall and some plastic gold trophies on a shelf right above it. The window had thick grey bars over it, the door a thick wood with a rectangular cut out directly in the center.

Someone knocked. “I brought some food up for you sweetie,” a gentle voice said quietly and Jungkook watched as a sandwich wrapped in plastic was shoved through the door along with a hand. A long sigh came from Jungkook, one that he knew he did not make himself.

“I’m not hungry.” Jungkook recognized Yoongi’s voice immediately. It was younger and far less mature, but Jungkook still recognized it.

So he was teenage Yoongi.

“You have to eat honey.” Jungkook assumed that was his mother. She sounded worried, but her hand was shaking through the door.

“I’ll eat when I’m hungry. I’m not hungry.” Yoongi’s tone was harsher, and something moved within his chest. The sandwich toppled to the floor and the hand disappeared.

“You know your father and I love you very much right? We have to protect you, and we have to protect your siblings. You know that right?”

“Why can’t Geumjae share a room with me anymore mom? Is he afraid of me too?”

“No one is afraid of you sweetie, we just want you to be safe. We need you to be safe in case you-”

“You are all scared of me! I can’t help it, Mom! I’m scared too! I can feel that thing inside of me and I don’t like it! Mom! I killed our dog!” Yoongi broke down into tears and he wrapped his arms around himself. Jungkook could hear his mother sobbing outside the door.

“I know you’re scared baby, we are all scared. We all love you so much, please know that. We just need to stay safe. You’ll get the hang of it eventually, don’t worry. Just like Grandpa. Do you remember when I told you he had to stay in the basement for a couple of months when he was your age? You've got to get control so everyone is safe.”

“I don’t think I can Momma, it’s too hard.”

“I know it’s hard, but you have to try. I want to hug you again Yoongi, I do.”

“Then hug me! You’re treating me like a caged animal!” He was yelling now. “I’m a monster!”

“No, you aren’t honey, you’re not!”

“You’re all scared of me! Every single one of you! You don’t love me!” Yoongi started screaming, and Jungkook could feel the thing in his chest breaking free. Yoongi pushed everything off his desk with a growl and slammed his hands down hard, his breathing heavy. When he glanced up, he caught sight of his reflection in the window.

Bright gold eyes and bleach-blonde hair. 

Jungkook woke up, Yoongi’s screams echoing in his ears. He couldn’t do this anymore. Jungkook knew these were not his dreams, they were someone's memories. Yoongi's memories.

He didn't know how it was happening, but he knew somehow he was seeing into Yoongi's mind and he felt awful invading.

The bedside clock read 3 am, but Jungkook couldn't wait until the morning. He had to go talk to Yoongi, even if something bad did happen. Jin had said the door was locked so if gold appeared behind the bolt Jungkook would know now was not the time.

After pulling on a shirt and some sweatpants, Jungkook was darting down the stairs as quickly as possible. He wondered how he was going to bring the conversation up but then Jungkook realized it didn't matter because something weird was going on.

When he reached the large double doors, he pounded on them as loudly and as forcefully as he could manage, just hoping Yoongi would be awake at this ungodly hour. He was fortunate enough to see brown scarred eyes pop up on the other side instead of gold ones. The only problem was, Yoongi did not look happy at all. He pointed to the stairs and mouthed something angrily, but Jungkook sucked at reading lips and opened the door instead. The minute the door had opened Yoongi was grabbing a fistful of Jungkook's shirt and slamming him against the wall, the back of his head hitting it hard. Jungkook let out a groan in pain, which didn't last long because Yoongi kissed him harshly and suddenly Jungkook wasn't in pain anymore.

Jungkook had missed this. He had craved Yoongi’s touch for two months and now he was finally getting it, and he couldn’t get enough.

He pushed into the kiss as Yoongi’s hands explored his body. An explosion of pleasure rocketed between both of them; Yoongi tightened his grip and moaned into Jungkook’s mouth.

And just like that, it was over. Yoongi was pulling away leaving Jungkook in amazement and shock.

“Sorry. I had to do something so the jackass would stand down. He probably thought you were out of the picture.” Jungkook nodded his head. It was quiet in Yoongi’s room, which was strange. There was usually music playing in the background.

“I’m not going to complain.”

“Why are you down here anyway? I told you not to bother me.” He was back to looking angry and Jungkook sighed.

“I had to talk to you. Something weird is going on.” Yoongi raised an eyebrow and gestured to the seat across his desk. Jungkook continued when the two had both sat down. “I’ve been having a lot of nightmares ever since I’ve come here.”

“Everyone has nightmares. Big whoop.”

“It’s not that though. You’ve been in all of them. It started with you getting killed by D and now it-”

“Go back,” Yoongi said harshly as he leaned across the table. “You had a dream about me getting killed by Agust D?” Jungkook nodded. “Were we two different people? In a forest covered in snow?”

“Oh my god,” Jungkook whispered. He raised a hand to his mouth. “Yes.”

“He told me I needed to die,” Yoongi tilted his head and Jungkook once again nodded. “We had the same dream. How did we have the same dream?”

“That’s not it. I started having ones recently where I’m uh, you, I guess. But it’s stuff I couldn’t possibly know.”

“Like what?”

“Agust D was in an apartment. It was the aftermath of a kill and he covered his hands in blood and-”

“Stop. You stop right now. I don’t want to hear another word.” His jaw was clenched and Yoongi looked like he was about to hurt someone. Jungkook gulped, knowing he was pushing his luck.

“Then you were a teenager, and your mom was giving you food through a slot in your door-”

“I said stop!” Yoongi growled, swinging around to hit the wall with his voice echoing off the walls around them. Jungkook looked down at the ground, fear starting to rise within his chest. He knew those had been personal memories, he couldn’t have been making that stuff up.

Yoongi grabbed Jungkook’s jaw tightly and forced Jungkook to look at him. “I don’t know how you know about that, but you don’t talk about those with anyone, or I will personally rip out every bone in your body and feed them to dogs. You don’t get to know about those.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. It’s not my fault they are magically appearing in my fucking head.”

Yoongi growled again. “I don’t know either, but we are going to find out.” He let go of Jungkook with a forceful shove and went behind his desk to push the button labeled “Jin.”

“Yeah? What’s up?” Jin asked groggily. Yoongi cleared his throat.

“I need you to come down here. Now.”

“Uh, yes sir. I’m on my way.” When Jin clicked off, Yoongi shot Jungkook a look that could kill. They went head to head in a staring contest until Jin was running through the doors with a loud pant.

“Sit down Jin,” Yoongi demanded without breaking his glare. Jin obeyed.

“What’s going on?”

“Something is wrong with Jungkook.”

Jungkook scoffed. “Something is wrong with me? I don’t think so.”

“Okay, don’t argue. Just explain what’s going on.”

“I told you about the weird dreams I was having Jin, and guess what? Yoongi had the same ones. Now I’m getting his memories in the mix.” Neither of them had even looked at Jin; they continued to shoot daggers at each other. Yoongi’s eye twitched.

“You had the same dream Yoongi?” Jin repeated to make sure he had heard right.

“Why is he getting my fucking memories in his head Jin? Can you please answer that? Because I don’t need him to know about my personal life, thank you very much.”

“You’re certain they’re your memories Yoongi?

“I’m pretty damn sure I can remember what my memories are, thank you Jin.”

Jin gulped. “I think I know what’s going on.” Finally, Yoongi broke his stance and his eyes flickered over to Jin.

“Well, start talking.”

“You are subconsciously reaching out to Jungkook through his dreams.” Yoongi snorted at the same time Jungkook rolled his eyes.

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard.”

“Let me finish Yoongi. Listen, we all know your little friend had a strange infatuation with Jungkook and whether that remains is a mystery to us all. But it’s got to be because Jungkook is human.”

“You did say I gave off weird energy,” Jungkook pointed out. Yoongi flipped him off.

“You’re reaching out to Jungkook by projecting thoughts into his head. Because you want help.”

“You don’t know what I want Jin, but thanks for acting like you do.”

“Yoongi, can you please have one normal conversation where you don’t act like an asshole? You wanted me to explain and I am.” Yoongi grunted but didn’t say anything else. “There are things we can do that we don’t know we can do yet. You just found something you could do.”

“But why me of all people?” Jungkook questioned. Jin looked at Jungkook like he was stupid for asking that question.

“Because Yoongi likes you, duh.”

“Fuck off Jin,” Yoongi muttered. Jin rolled his eyes.

“You guys can act like nine-year-olds all you want and play the little ‘check the box yes or no’ game, or you can act like the grown men you are. Face the facts here. Jungkook helps you. You want him to help you. That’s why you’re showing him your memories. You trust him. Sooner or later you’re going to have to face your shit if you want things to get better. You’ve been dealing with that monster since you were sixteen years old Yoongi. You need to get a hold of your life and stop running away with your tail tucked between your legs.”

“I don’t know how.”

“You and I both know that’s bullshit. You are reliving your childhood all over again, locked away in a cage.” Yoongi stood up quickly, a snarl on his face. He punched Jin directly in the nose, causing him to tumble out of his chair. Jungkook was up in seconds, sliding in between the two of them.

“You don’t get to tell me what I know!” Yoongi yelled loudly. He squeezed his eyes shut. Jin pushed himself off the ground, his nose already healing itself. He stared at Yoongi in anger.

“You know it’s true. You’ve given up and you don’t have to do that. I know you can fight him, I’ve seen it before. I need you to start showing that Yoongi again, not the coward who lets fear rule his life.”

“Easy Jin,” Jungkook warned with a low voice. Jin rolled his eyes.

“For years I’ve let you boss me around Yoongi. Years. I’ve done nothing but listen to you, nothing but help you and comfort you. I’ve brought you food, water, I’ve made sure you were okay. And never once did you thank me, at least not until Jungkook made you. You’re selfish Yoongi. You are full of hatred and you can’t see past that stupid veil you draped yourself in. You have to stop hiding and pretending. Do something for once and start acting like a leader.”

Yoongi threw his hands in the air and let them fall to his side. “What do you want from me Jin? My undying love?”

“I want you to try.”

Yoongi pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Okay. Fine. The veil is gone and the trying has begun.”

“We are here to help you Yoongi. None of us are afraid of you. Stop pushing us away.”

“It’s okay to ask for help Yoongi,” Jungkook added quietly. Yoongi stared at Jungkook briefly before turning back towards Jin.

“Look, I’m sorry for getting worked up. You’re right okay? You’re right. Thank you for all your help, not only today but ever. Don’t know why you keep me as your leader when I’m this shitty.”

“Ok, and another thing. Quit with the hate comments. You aren’t a bad leader, you’re a great one. It’s only recently that you’ve been hiding behind that title. Just stop hiding.” Jin forced a smile and turned to walk out of the room. Yoongi opened his mouth to say something, but it snapped shut.

“Hey, Yoongi? Are you okay?” Jungkook asked after Jin left. Yoongi looked broken. He turned to look at Jungkook, his brown eyes wide.

“I killed you,” he whispered, voice cracking at the end.

And then he was crying.

Jungkook had no doubt Yoongi had once been a brave man, but his demons had turned him into dust. He pledged to help Yoongi, no matter the circumstances.

Jungkook wrapped his arms around Yoongi tightly and allowed him to cry into his shoulder. 

“Shhh, it’s okay love, things are going to be okay I promise. We gotta work for them to get that way is all. You can do it.”

“I shouldn’t be alive Jungkook,” Yoongi sobbed, his hands tightening around Jungkook’s torso. Jungkook sighed.

“Don’t think like that Yoongi. You should too. You’ve had a positive influence on so many people’s lives. The other day Hoseok told me how thankful he was that you had found him. You helped all these people, Yoongi, and that’s incredible, don’t you think?” Yoongi didn’t answer. “Hoseok was homeless when you found him, did you know that? You gave him a home. Think about what would have happened if you hadn’t been alive. He would still be sleeping with people for a tiny bit of cash. You’re important to these people, and they realize you’ve been struggling. They all want to help you. All you have to do is let them. Let me help you.”

“I’m a monster Jungkook, I’m going to hurt everyone I love.”

“So what if you hurt me? People hurt people all the time. You need to work on not hurting. You can do that. Jin told me that you could work to a point where you could switch back and forth between sides easily. Imagine that.”

“That’s impossible.”

“It’s not. Get a hold of him. Switch the reigns. Make him obey you instead of the other way around. I know you can do it.” Yoongi sighed and pulled away from Jungkook’s embrace. “We said we would do this together, remember?”

“That was before I almost killed you!”

“For fuck’s sake Yoongi, I don’t care! I’m not going anywhere. I made a promise and I’m going to keep it.”

He turned back around and slipped his fingers into place with Jungkook’s. “I’m never going to hurt you again, okay? I promise.”

“Are you going to let me help you?” Yoongi nodded. “Good. Then no more disappearing for weeks on end. If you turn, we both deal with it. Got it?”

“Yes sir.” Satisfied, Jungkook pulled Yoongi back into a hug.

“I’m not going to abandon you okay? You gotta trust me.”

“I do trust you. I trusted you from the day you arrived and I don’t know why.”

“Just believe me when I say you can get through this?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good.” Yoongi pulled away and dragged Jungkook to his bedroom. He pointed to the bed.

“You aren’t leaving me tonight. So now it’s your turn to obey.”

“Yes sir,” Jungkook replied with a grin as he rolled onto the bed. Yoongi climbed on top of him and leaned in to kiss him.

“You have no idea how nice this feels.”

“I have some idea,” Jungkook murmured against Yoongi’s lips. He wrapped a hand behind his head and pulled him farther down.

Things were going to be okay.

At least, for now.


	9. 009

Things were going well for Yoongi.

As the weeks passed, he got back into the normal swing of things. He started going to meals with Jungkook, he helped Tae keep things in check, he even had full-on conversations with the residents. Jungkook helped Yoongi learn self-control, per the request of Jin. He was trying to change the way he lived his life, working his way towards the light at the end of the tunnel, and suddenly things didn’t seem so dark anymore. Yoongi began sleeping upstairs in Jungkook’s room, but of course, there were days when Yoongi preferred the comfort of his own bedroom. Neither ever complained though: Progress was progress.

Currently, they were standing in the middle of Yoongi’s office. Yoongi had his eyes closed and stood still while Jungkook paced around him in a circle with his arms crossed. They were working on Yoongi’s “control” exercises that Jin had suggested they do together. Part of that involved figuring out if Yoongi could control what Jungkook could see, dreams and memories wise. They hadn’t been very successful in that department yet.

“How are you feeling at the moment?” Jungkook asked quietly, his full attention on Yoongi. Yoongi rolled his shoulders back and cracked his knuckles.

“Calm.”

“How is he feeling?”

“Well, he isn’t the happiest. He doesn’t like you helping me, for one thing. And he won’t shut up.”

“So he’s talking to you?”

“Fighting with me. But I’m used to that.”

“Do you remember that time you managed to show me what was going on for a few seconds? Think you could do that again?” Yoongi opened his eyes and stared at Jungkook with a worrying look.

“It only lasted a few seconds last time, I don’t know.”

“We both try. On the count of three. You just have to focus, and I’ve got to clear my mind. Simple enough right?” Jungkook’s voice rose at the end; he knew he wasn’t confident with his words. Yoongi shrugged and closed his eyes again.

“Alright, you have to count.”

Jungkook nodded and stopped pacing to lean against a wall. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to think about absolutely nothing. Here went nothing. “One, two, three...”

They stood in silence, but nothing was happening. They always could try and sleep, but there was no guarantee Yoongi would send the right thing. He had no control when they were sleeping. It looked like the two would have to try again another time.

Jungkook was about to open his eyes and give up when he suddenly got the feeling he wasn’t on solid ground anymore and his breath was sucked from his lungs. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a dark room with low lighting, and across from him stood two Yoongis - Normal Yoongi and Blonde Evil Psychopath Super Villain Yoongi. Normal Yoongi didn’t look dead this time. He was pacing around hurriedly, his head down. Agust D leaned against a wall with a smirk on his face.

“I can’t believe you’re letting a human help us. I thought you were above that.”

“He’s helping me,” Yoongi argued, his face flushed with anger. “Besides, it doesn’t matter what you think.”

“Oh, so now it doesn’t matter what I think? Of course it does. I’m you. Are you telling me your opinion is invalid?” Yoongi didn’t answer. Agust D moved from the wall and grabbed Yoongi’s wrists so quickly he didn't have time to struggle. “You’re worthless Yoongi, absolutely worthless. You never know what’s going on, and that’s why I’m always in charge. I should always be in charge. You are stupid. Look what you’re doing. Remember when I told you we were destined for greatness? What happened to that?”

“This is not greatness. You killing people is not greatness. You pretending to know everything is not greatness.”

“I am greatness. That’s why I’m in charge.”

“You don’t always get to be in charge, because I’m done letting you take over. We are going back to how things should have been a long time ago.” Yoongi shoved out of his grasp, and then Jungkook was falling. His vision faded and his eyes shot open to see real-life Yoongi crouched down in front of him, worry flooding his face. Jungkook realized he was now on his back.

“Did that just happen?” He wondered out loud, voice full of amazement. Yoongi laughed excitedly.

“Dude, we did it.” he offered a hand to Jungkook and pulled him off the ground.

“Okay, we need to figure out how you did that. 'Cause, that’s going to be very helpful if we can figure out how to do it more often.”

“Do you think it’s a two-way street Jungkook?” Yoongi looked hopeful, and Jungkook hated to bring him down. He shrugged.

“I don’t think so Yoongi. I can’t do anything special. Besides, how could it be? You’re the one with the powers, not me.” Yoongi sighed and started pacing around his office, one hand raised to his chin.

“Well what-” he paused and rephrased his sentence. “It could be a reflection. Your thoughts bouncing off of mine. That could work, couldn't it?”

“I dunno.”

“We can ask Jin about it later. The main focus is that we did it. Successfully.”

“Does that happen a lot?” Jungkook asked, pointing a finger at his head. Yoongi stopped in his tracks.

“What, the arguing? Yes, a lot. That’s all we ever do. And usually, he wins.”

“Does it hurt when you, uh, transition? I mean, I know it certainly looks like it does...”

“It hurts when he wants it to hurt. If I don’t put up a fight, he takes right over. Right now, he’s trying to get me down and convince me to give everything up. Soon he’s gonna get aggressive, so we need to move things along if you want to get the jump on him.”

“What does it feel like? Him being in there with you.”

Yoongi shook his head sadly. “Have you ever had a panic attack?” Jungkook nodded. “You know the feeling where it feels like something is crushing your chest and you can’t breathe? That’s what it feels like. All the time. It was so hard at first, but I’ve gotten used to it.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “We need to continue.”

“Right.” They both went back to their respective places. “How are you feeling?”

“I'm attempting to get calm again. The other guy is not happy. He’s trying to take me out.”

“Okay, so we need to add something to the mix.” Jungkook approached Yoongi carefully and slid a hand behind his neck. Yoongi flinched at his touch. “You good?”

“I’m good.”

Jungkook nodded before leaning in to kiss Yoongi’s jaw. He noticed Yoongi’s hands switched over to clenched fists. “He’s angry?”

“Very angry.”

“And how are you feeling?”

“Like I want to fuck you against a wall.” He opened his eyes and Jungkook took a step back. Yoongi grimaced. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

Jungkook repeated his question. “How are you feeling?”

“You should get back over here.”

“Come on Yoongi, you have to talk to me. This is important.”

“I’m not calm if that’s what you want to hear. I’m pretty riled up thanks to you.” Jungkook beamed and gently nudged Yoongi to the wall. He slipped a hand under Yoongi’s shirt and leaned in to kiss him again softly. Yoongi wasn’t having that. He grasped Jungkook’s arms tightly and pushed hard into the kiss, causing Jungkook to yelp in surprise when he bit down on his bottom lip.

“Get angry Yoongi, we need you to get angry so you can practice self-control.”

“I want to decorate my room with your blood,” he muttered angrily against Jungkook’s mouth, one of his hands sliding under the waistband of Jungkook’s jeans.

“It’s not you talking Yoongi, you’re repeating what he’s saying. He’s getting into your brain. Now how does that make you feel?”

“Furious,” Yoongi growled, and Jungkook shoved him off with a satisfied grin. He pulled Yoongi over to a chair and began zip-tying him to it. They both agreed Jungkook should stay in the room when Yoongi turned— Agust D liked to engage in conversation and it allowed Yoongi more time to figure out what he needed to do.

Seconds later, Yoongi was snarling, his eyes bright yellow and his hair matching. 

“That’s a good boy,” Jungkook murmured as he dusted his hands off proudly. Agust glared at him for a minute before his face melted into a smirk.

“I’m starting to get real glad Jin was there to save you. Seeing you here, trying to be brave and helpful, makes you look utterly pathetic and I love it.”

“Alright Yoongi, hope you've started figuring out a plan.” The amount of time it took Yoongi ranged from days to hours. Recently he had been getting better about it; last time it had taken him about an hour and a half.

Agust D laughed and attempted to pull out of his restraints. “Both of you are stupid. This charade the two of you have going, it’s ridiculous. This is never going to work.”

“But it already is, you piece of shit, it’s working just nicely.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Do you think it’s working because you and Yoongi are playing the hero? He’s gonna give you all his memories and dashing Jeon Jungkook is going to save the world?”

“I’m not here to save the world, I’m here to get rid of trash like you.”

“But Jungkookie, you can’t get rid of me. I’m a part of Yoongi, just like his heart or lungs. He can’t function without me, love.”

“But he can control you. You aren’t going to ruin his life any longer.”

“I’ve been with Yoongi a long time, Jungkook, far longer than you have. I know how he functions. Right now, he’s curled in the corner trying to talk himself into beating me up.” He rolled his eyes. “He’s like a little kid.”

“No, he’s not,” Jungkook refused to believe him. “He’s fighting, just like we’ve been practicing.”

“Oh my, you think a little practice will make all of Yoongi’s problems go away? How ignorant are you Jungkook? The last time you guys did this, I let him win so you would stop talking to me. Except for this time, I know exactly what I want to say and I know how this is going to end. I could use a little entertainment. By the way, I would like to congratulate you on surviving death. Not many people have been able to do that.”

“Why do you feel the need to destroy Yoongi’s life if you are so certain he’s going to listen to you?” Jungkook wanted to punch the smirk right off of him; his fist was shaking as it was.

“I’m like Yoongi’s dashing, intelligent, far better-looking brother. I’m the one everyone loves, the one everyone listens to, and Yoongi, he wants to be like me. He needs to be like me. I'm here to mentor him, and so he listens to me, learns from me. I have to protect my little brother, you understand? I have to protect him from all the evil in the world.”

Jungkook snorted. “Evil in the world? Have you looked in a mirror lately?”

“Yoongi listens to me, and in return I protect him. I've let him try things on his own. Although sometimes I’m there to whisper encouragement. I’ve gotten Yoongi to do a lot of stuff, Jungkook. He’s done drugs, he drinks until he pukes, he’s had numerous one night stands with both men and women, stuff normal Yoongi would never do. He wouldn’t be the person he is today if it weren't for me. Nothing good can stay my friend, and I taught Yoongi that.”

“You’ve done nothing but destroy and deteriorate his life. He can think for himself, you asshole.”

“You’re a threat to my power. What does Yoongi think when somebody comes around with a whole different set of beliefs? Now Yoongi wants to listen to you, and he’s ignoring everything his teacher taught him in the first place. You can’t stay in the picture if Yoongi is to go back to the way things were.”

“Back to the way things were when Yoongi was suffering every waking moment of his life? If things are going back to normal, then it’s going to be back when he was happy and had control over you.”

“Yoongi wants to kill, Jungkook. He’s always wanted to kill. How do you think he was before I came around? He’s always been a messed up child.”

“You ruined his life.”

“I made his life better, you prick. He needs to be shown that life sucks and it’s always going to suck and he better get used to it. At one point I was fascinated by you because Yoongi hated you and that made me feel so damn proud. But now things have changed and you need to go.” 

“I’m not leaving him, so you better get used to this. Things are going to change, just like I’ve said from the start.”

Agust D laughed loudly. “Do you think I’m scared of you, Jungkook? Are you going to listen to everything stupid Jin says? Jin doesn’t know anything. Jin couldn’t even save his own family.” A maleficent grin was plastered on his face and Jungkook gulped. He didn’t know Jin’s backstory, but he didn’t want to hear it from this guy. “You won’t be a threat to me much longer after I show Yoongi how shitty the human race is, including you. I thought I had got him, but you’re only making things harder. You can’t hurt me, but I can sure as hell hurt you.”

“Oh really? Because I specifically remember you failing at the one thing you are best at.”

“You wanna know what I can do Jungkook? I can still hurt people after they are dead. I can terrorize their corpses. I like to have fun. Sometimes I like to make a mess.” He tilted his head. “I believe Yoongi showed you that one? Except whoops, it wasn’t him. It was me. I can play, too. And those scars you have running up your arm? I can fuck with those too. Want me to show you?”

“You’re bluffing.”

“You asked for it.” He flicked his wrist and suddenly the dark scarring on Jungkook’s arm was burning. It felt like someone had poured gasoline all over his arm and set it ablaze. Jungkook collapsed to his knees, his voice stuck. He was in so much pain he couldn’t even make a noise. “Every red blood cell in that arm in on the fritz. Every nerve ending, every muscle, even the bones. You won’t have an arm soon.” He laughed again and Jungkook couldn’t say anything. “Once you’re dead, I’m going to have so much fun with your corpse. I wonder if Yoongi would object to fucking your dead body. And then, I’m going to cut you open and take out all your bones one by one. I’ll let all the blood drain onto the floor, and I’ll paint the walls with it. Your skull will be thrown out the window onto the street below for the dogs to fight over. And the best part? Nobody is going to remember you. You’re nothing but a worthless, good for nothing hu-”

Agust D suddenly choked on his words, and he looked like he was about to throw up. Jungkook had sunk to the floor at this point; tears were pouring out of his eyes. “Yoongi, what are you do-” He started screaming, causing Jungkook to squeeze his eyes shut. He could hear Yoongi thrashing around in the chair.

“Jungkook? Jungkook, are you okay?” his voice was more gentle, and Jungkook cracked one eyelid open. The pain in his arm still hadn’t subsided, so he was wary. But sure enough, Yoongi’s eyes were dark and his face was masked with worry. It didn’t last long before he was grunting again and his fingers dug into the armrests on the chair. Eyes flickered back to gold.

“Could you believe he had the urge to try and kick me out of power during a monologue? Now were we?” He went back to smirking, but Jungkook could tell something was not right. His scarred eye was swirling with gold and brown and he looked extremely uncomfortable. Jungkook prayed Yoongi would take control soon. Agust D sighed loudly. “For Christ’s sake Yoongi, can you stop?”

“Stop hurting him!”

“I’m teaching him a lesson. A well-deserved lesson, mind you.”

“Teach yourself a fucking lesson!”

“Honestly Yoongi, is that the best you can come up with?”

Jungkook blinked. He was watching Yoongi have an argument with himself, his eyes flickering between gold and brown each time he opened his mouth to talk. It certainly made the list of weirdest things he had ever seen.

Finally, the pain in Jungkook’s arm vanished and he gasped for air.

Yoongi’s eyes were back to being dark, and it looked like they weren’t going to change. He was struggling to slip out of the ties, face full of worry. “Jungkook, you gotta cut these so I can help you. He backed down, I promise. Please get me out.” Jungkook swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded his head. He struggled to get off the ground; his legs felt like jelly and his arm had no feeling in it at all. “Come on baby, you can do it. You’re going to be okay.”

Jungkook reached for the scissors in Yoongi’s desk drawer and went to work shakily cutting the ties. Yoongi rubbed his wrists before pulling Jungkook into a hug.

“I’m so sorry he hurt you, I didn’t know he could do that. Nobody has ever survived his touch, I didn’t know. I broke my promise, I’m so sorry.”

“That’s the fastest you’ve ever regained control,” Jungkook chuckled, wincing at the end. His voice was raw.

“Forget about that, Jungkook! Focus on the fact you could have died again!”

“No, that was good. It gave you more time. I’m okay with being the distraction, we talked about that.”

“That was before I found out he could still hurt you.”

“Well, that just gives you more initiative to hurry the hell up.”

“You’re so stupid,” Yoongi murmured into Jungkook’s shoulder, but he didn’t let up on his grip. “Normal people wouldn’t be okay with this.”

“I’m not normal. And besides, I told you I’m not going anywhere. This is just something we are going to have to deal with. Problem solved.”

“No, problem not solved. I’m not okay with this.” He sighed. “But if you’re okay with this, I’ll tolerate it.”

“Of course I’m okay with this.” Jungkook flexed and internally sighed with relief when he could feel his fingers. “Now will you shut up about it? Jesus, I’m starting to miss moody Yoongi.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes and leaned forward to kiss Jungkook on the cheek. “I need a drink.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“I know what he said, but I can make my own decisions. And I’m saying that I need a drink. Desperately. I want to get drunk so I can forget all this stress. I’m not going to get drunk though because he’ll take advantage of that. So you can get drunk and I’ll be the designated driver.”

“I’m not going to get drunk.”

“Will you at least get a drink with me?”

Jungkook didn’t answer. He still didn’t think it was a good idea.

Yoongi groaned. “Come on Jungkook, I just successfully beat that bastard back into the dirt and watched him almost kill you. A drink isn’t going to kill us. Besides, I need to get out of this building and get some fresh air.”

“When’s the last time you went into the city, Yoongi? Is this a good idea?”

“We will be in the city an hour tops. I can survive for an hour. Besides, it gives me the perfect excuse to lazily make out with you in my car.”

“Well, can’t turn down that offer.”

Yoongi grinned. He slipped his hand into Jungkook’s and began pulling him upstairs, keeping an eye out for suspicious bypassers. Neither of them said a word as Yoongi led them through the halls. Fortunately not that many people were out wandering, and they would have made it too. The main door was in sight when somebody yanked on Yoongi’s shoulder and Jungkook’s hand was ripped from his grasp.

“Min Yoongi, where on earth do you think you’re going?” Tae said sternly as he glared at the two of them with his arms cross. Yoongi started wringing his hands and Jungkook tried to make himself invisible.

With a nervous swallow, Yoongi looked Tae in the eye. “I’m going out. I can do that. I’m in charge of you, so if you’re thinking of stopping me then uh, think again.”

“Are you stupid?” Tae asked with a shake of his head. “Honestly, I wonder about you sometimes.”

“I am entitled to go out without you stopping me. I’ll only be in the city for about an hour; we’re getting drinks. Celebratory slash sorry he almost killed you drinks.” Tae’s mouth dropped.

“He almost killed you Jungkook? Again?”

Jungkook sighed. “No, he did not almost kill me. Yoongi has a new record for regaining control.” Tae raised an eyebrow and looked between the two of them with narrowed eyes. He held up a finger and disappeared behind a door labeled “Storage.” Minutes later he came back with a bottle of Vodka and two shot glasses. Jungkook wondered what he had been saving that for.

“There you go. Enjoy your drinks in the comfort of your own home. Sorry Ty, but you aren’t ready to visit the city again. Shall I remind you what happened last time you visited the city?”

“No.” Yoongi looked down at his feet with a sigh. Tae smiled.

“When you can easily regain control with the snap of your fingers, then we can talk about going out, alright?”

Yoongi pursed his lips together and took the items from Tae’s hands. “Ok Dad, sure.”

“Hate me all you want Yoongi, you know I’m right. Now shoo.” Tae waved his hand and Yoongi began sulking down the hallway, Jungkook following close behind him.

“Sorry man, but you know it’s for the better,” Jungkook attempted to comfort Yoongi, but Yoongi only smirked instead.

“If you think I’m listening to him you’re insane. We don’t need to go into the city, but hell, we’re still leaving. I want to see my car again.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Nope,” he responded, popping the P. Yoongi pulled Jungkook around the corner of a different hallway and peered around to see if Tae had left.

“What is with everyone having nice cars here? I don’t understand it.”

“Half the things in this place aren’t even ours Jungkook. Now shut up.”

“Is this making sense to you at all? None of you have jobs. Where on earth did you come up with the money?”

“Jungkook, did you forget we have Jimin? Who can walk into any place ever and get anyone to give us anything we want?”

“Oh. Right.” Yoongi shushed him.

Two minutes later, Yoongi was beckoning Jungkook to follow him and they disappeared through the door. Once outside, Yoongi handed Jungkook the Vodka bottle and glasses and turned to lock the door. Then they headed up the stairs and began the walk to the garage.

“You have no idea how great the sun feels right now,” Yoongi commented as they walked. He had his hands shoved in his pockets and a bounce in his step. It was weird, seeing Yoongi so happy. It was a good thing, don't get him wrong, but it was strange.

“You’re going to start sweating soon and then the sun won't feel too great. That’s what you get for wearing all black.”

“I have to represent how I feel on the inside. Don’t test me, next time you wear black I’ll spend all day making fun of you for it.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes.

\---

Yoongi’s car was beautiful and Jungkook was afraid to touch it.

“I’m not like Tae. Do what you want, I’m not going to murder you. Just don’t do anything stupid okay?”

Jungkook nodded. He climbed into the passenger side and put everything in his hands onto the floor. “Any idea where we’re going?”

“I’ve got an idea. But it’s a secret.”

“Everything’s got to be a secret with you, doesn’t it?”

Yoongi rolled his eyes. “Will you enjoy yourself and stop fretting about every little thing?”

Jungkook shrugged. “That depends.”

Yoongi didn’t speak until after they had gotten onto the road and he was punching it far past the limit. Jungkook wasn’t about to tell Yoongi to slow down, no matter how nervous he was.

“How long have you played the guitar?”

“Since I was 12. Why?”

“What, I’m not allowed to ask you questions about your life?”

“I don’t know. It was random is all.”

“Just trying to start a conversation.” He paused. “So you like playing it, then?”

“Yes. I like playing it.”

“I used to play the piano when I was younger. We had one in our house and I would spend hours messing with chords. But uhm, haven’t done that since the other guy came around.”

“He’s been a handicap in your life, huh?”

“You have no idea.” Yoongi forced a smile. “It is what it is I guess.”

“I uh, had this conversation with Hoseok about how the whole powers thing works. So were you the only one in your family who got them?”

“Wish I knew the answer to that Jungkook, but I don’t. I know neither of my parents did. Just my grandpa, but you already knew about that.”

“So do you guys all have similar talents in your family, or is there no consistency?”

“Everything’s similar. You know how you have a mammal, but there are all kinds of mammals? It’s like that. Does that make sense?”

“That makes sense.” Silence followed; neither one of them seemed to know what to say.

Eventually, Yoongi was pulling off the main road onto a back road covered in dirt and leaves; Jungkook was secretly thankful Yoongi was being forced to slow down. He drove a little farther down the road before pulling off into a patch of trees and killing the engine. Yoongi gestured towards the bottle of Vodka on the floor.

“Wanna do the honor?”

“Uh, sure.” Jungkook reached down to pick them up and handed the glasses to Yoongi. He twisted the top and carefully poured the liquid into them, trying his hardest not to spill it over the edges. Then he put the cap back on, placed the bottle in between the seats, and accepted his glass from Yoongi.

“To progress,” Yoongi said dreamily, his eyes closed. He looked peaceful.

“To progress,” Jungkook repeated, and they clinked their glasses together. Yoongi downed his in seconds; Jungkook took one sip and scowled. He was not a fan.

“Top me off again,” demanded Yoongi as he nudged his glass Jungkook’s way.

“Please remember you’re driving home.”

“I can handle another inch of alcohol, just do it please.” he sounded annoyed and Jungkook didn’t want to make him angry. Yoongi deserved some relief after their exercise.

After he poured Yoongi another glass, he went back to forcing himself to take small sips. Yoongi once again downed it. “Wish I could get drunk,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Getting drunk isn’t all it’s shaken out to be.”

“People always seem so much happier when they’re drunk. I wish I would be too.”

“You don’t know what’s going on when you’re drunk. It's dangerous. I don’t understand why people do it.”

“You just love to hate having fun, don’t you Jungkook?” Yoongi had a smug grin on his face and Jungkook started pouting.

“No, I’m just being reasonable.”

“You’re cute when you get angry.” He raised an eyebrow and placed his empty glass in one of the cup holders. Jungkook blushed.

“No, I uh-”

“Jungkook, stop talking.” He paused and let his eyes meet Jungkook’s. “Can you follow my instructions?”

“Depends on what you wanna do.” Jungkook narrowed his eyes in suspicion as Yoongi looked out the windows to make sure nobody was around.

“Jungkook, I would love it if you got in the back seat.”

Eyes widened, and he swallowed nervously. Oh boy. “Again, what do you want to do?”

Yoongi only smirked. “I’m not going to ask again. Get in the back seat.”

Jungkook sighed. He knew there was no point in trying to ask or defy; when Yoongi got bossy there was no stopping him.

Yoongi watched, satisfied as Jungkook unbuckled and pushed open the passenger door. He paused briefly outside to take a few deep breaths before climbing into the back seat. The seat was cold from disuse and his hands gripped the leather tightly, the hair on the back of his neck rising in slight fear. He was truly worried about what Yoongi was planning.

Because he could be planning to talk to Jungkook and make out with him, or he could be planning a murder. Jungkook wasn’t exactly certain there could be an in-between at this point.

Yoongi shimmied next to Jungkook seconds after, shattering his daydreams as the car locked with an echoing click. He wasted no time spitting out demands.

"Take your shirt off, Jungkook." Jungkook quickly obeyed. Truthfully, he was a little terrified to think about what would happen if he didn’t obey quickly. He dropped his shirt onto the floor under him and stared, awaiting what was to come next. Yoongi nodded, satisfied before he crawled on top of Jungkook and pinned his hands above his head. Jungkook watched cautiously as Yoongi pulled out a zip tie from his pocket and strung his hands together through the handle on the roof. In a sudden panic, Jungkook shifted, the plastic rubbing harshly against his skin. He was stuck.

A million thoughts ran through his thoughts then, one of them being how long had Yoongi been planning on taking him out into the woods and chaining his hands to the car?

"Uh, Yoongi? What are we-"

"Don't worry about it Jungkook, just be a good boy and do what I say, alright?" Yoongi had a mischievous sparkle in his eye and Jungkook was beyond worried. He wasn't planning on murdering him and dumping his body, was he? Because no one was going to come looking for Jungkook up here. Not that anyone would come looking anyway, but it's the thought that counts.

His answer came when Yoongi pulled off shoes and socks. He pulled down his pants slowly, still grinning, and rolled them into a ball before setting them nicely down with Jungkook's other belongings. This, of course, left Jungkook in nothing but his underwear. Yoongi didn't waste a second of time, leaning over to kiss Jungkook roughly, his tongue pushing its way into Jungkook's mouth despite a small squeak of surprise. Jungkook attempted to pull his hands apart but the zip tie only rubbed raw against his wrists.

"No point in trying," Yoongi whispered huskily into his ear, his fingers trailing down Jungkook's stomach. Jungkook felt something stir in his boxers and he gulped again. "Just let what happens to happen." with a nod Yoongi pressed his lips gently on the underside of Jungkook's jaw and moved them down to his collar bone. He then bit down hard, earning a startling mixture of a moan and a yelp from Jungkook.

"Remember, Yoongi," Jungkook tested sternly, his brow furrowed. "We can't have s-"

"Shut the fuck up, Jungkook, you aren't supposed to be talking," his response was mumbled as he continued to suck and his fingers explored Jungkook's body. He pulled away a minute later to reveal a teeth marked purple bruise forming on his collar bone. Jungkook closed his eyes with a sigh as Yoongi slipped his fingers under the hem of his boxers and pulled swiftly, Jungkook lifting his hips as some form of contribution. They fell to the floor, joining the rest of his clothing in a lazy pile.

Yoongi's mouth went back on Jungkook's neck, but it didn't stay there for long. He let himself wander until he found the sensitive skin close to Jungkook's dick. With a quiet moan, Jungkook flinched and tried to pull away, but Yoongi had an extremely strong grip and Jungkook realized, finally, that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Someone's excited," Yoongi said smugly as his fingers brushed Jungkook's erection. Jungkook moaned again. “That didn’t take much effort on my part.”

"Jesus Yoongi, please."

"Please what?" Yoongi bit down in an area nearby his previous art piece and Jungkook made an even louder sound.

"You gotta, ahh, you have to do something, anything."

"I do what I want. You aren't in charge here. My clothes stay on. You, if I remember correctly, are supposed to be quiet." Yoongi's mouth moved back up to Jungkook's lip; one of his hands was firmly wrapped around Jungkook's dick. He stroked the head with his thumb softly. Jungkook struggled to kiss Yoongi back. The position he was in was extremely uncomfortable and he had been hard since his body was curiously reacting to Yoongi's strange behavior. He was being an awful, awful tease.

"Yoongi, please," Jungkook begged, feeling embarrassed he even had to do that in the first place. Yoongi's sigh was filled with annoyance. The hand around Jungkook's dick slid to his ass and gripped tight, nails breaking the skin. He kissed harshly once more before answering.

"You need to stop talking, asshole." Jungkook knew he shouldn't, but God, he was in so much pain and he needed Yoongi to do something so he could be satisfied in some fashion.

Yoongi dragged the tip of his tongue from Jungkook's jaw down to the middle of his chest and moved both his hands to Jungkook's waist. He held it firmly as he continued to string bruises all over Jungkook's body. Jungkook let out a whiny plea and Yoongi was tightening his grip in response. He bit down hard on one of Jungkook's nipples and god, Jungkook couldn't take it anymore. He was so hard he was starting to leak and Yoongi was not helping at all.

"Yoongi, I am begging you to please-"

"Are you in pain, Koo?" Yoongi's expression softened and he let up on his harsh grip. Jungkook nodded, his eyes watering. With a sigh Yoongi pulled off his shirt and pressed his chest to Jungkook's, creating dull friction, denim grinding on skin. He softly laid kisses across Jungkook's jaw, earning an excessively loud groan. Jungkook wanted more, Yoongi knew that. And he was going to give it to him.

Yoongi helped to readjust Jungkook's sitting position to something slightly more comfortable (Jungkook's ass was numb) and pulled his knees apart. He rubbed his palms together. Jungkook eyed Yoongi curiously and bit his lip momentarily.

"Yoongi, what are you d-" Jungkook's answer came when Yoongi slid Jungkook's entire length into his mouth and Jungkook's voice slid up an octave in surprise. He leaned back and let his head bang against the window as Yoongi began to blow him.

Yoongi ran his tongue across the slit before he bit down softly, just enough for his teeth to graze, and Jungkook let out a string of profanities as he attempted to move again, his wrists completely rubbed raw. Yoongi started to move in and out, finding a satisfying rhythm, and all Jungkook could do was think about getting the pain to subside. At least Yoongi was being of some service now.

Five minutes later Jungkook felt like he was about to bubble out of the sides and his relaxed position became hysteric. He tried to pull away from Yoongi, which only fucked up his wrists even more. Adrenaline was his best friend at the moment.

"Yoongi," he warned, "not good, I'm going to-" Jungkook couldn't even finish the sentence before he came into Yoongi's mouth. Yoongi choked, his eyes wide, and pulled away, the rest getting all over the nice seats of his car and the both of them. When he finished, the two sat in silence.

"Wow," Yoongi said as he looked at the mess placed before them. A wolf-like grin rose to his lips. "Jungkook, you made a mess."

Jungkook turned tomato red. "I'm sorry, I know you probably want to kill me and I'll clean everything up, I promise." Yoongi rolled his eyes and swiped at the come on Jungkook's stomach with two fingers. He sucked it off before he climbed back on top of Jungkook and kissed his mouth with as much force as he could muster. Jungkook could taste himself and he pushed back harder, loving the feeling of Yoongi's tongue swirling around with his. Yoongi let out a moan of his own, his fingers exploring, touching skin everywhere he could reach. His fingers went back to wrapping around Jungkook's dick. Jungkook let his eyes wander-- he could tell Yoongi was hard from the giant bulge in his jeans, but he wasn't about to tell Yoongi to take them off. Not when Yoongi was in charge.

Yoongi moved to nibble on Jungkook's ear, his thumb stroking the head of Jungkook's dick. Jungkook moaned deeply and he could feel Yoongi grin against his face.

"You good, love?" Yoongi asked seductively and all Jungkook could do was nod. Jungkook couldn't remember the last time he had done something so pleasurable with a person.

A hand slid up to Jungkook's hair and he pulled on it tightly as he went back to sucking on Jungkook's neck. That only lasted about two minutes before he was pulling off and sitting up with a sigh.

"We should probably go back before they freak out about me being gone." He shrugged off of Jungkook and picked up Jungkook's clothes from the floor. Jungkook stared at them carefully as he nodded his head in agreement. To be completely honest, he didn’t want it to be over.

"Could you cut these?" Jungkook asked, his voice raw. He attempted to clear it. Yoongi's eyes flickered with irrepressible mischief and before Jungkook could say anything, Yoongi pushed the door open and tossed all of Jungkook's clothes into the woods. Jungkook gaped in shock. "You son of a bitch!"

"Whoops, my hands slipped." Yoongi shrugged before pulling his shirt back on and climbing into the front seat. He started the ignition with a wicked grin and barreled out of the secluded woods.

It seemed Yoongi was purposely trying to hit every single bump possible on his way back. Jungkook was moving around way too much in the back seat, his dick flopping against his stomach as he attempted to stabilize himself. There was no such luck. So instead, Jungkook pouted.

When they got back to the garage, Yoongi opened Jungkook's door and slit the tie, sending Jungkook tumbling to the floor. He had a smug look on his face as Jungkook pushed himself off of the cement and rubbed at his raw wrists.

"You son of a bitch," he muttered again as Yoongi pulled a roll of paper towels from a shelf and tossed them to Jungkook.

"Clean up your mess before we go."

"You can't seriously expect me to walk back home naked, do you?" Yoongi's grin widened.

"I hear the view is outstanding this time of year."

"You're such a prick," Jungkook grumbled as he turned towards the car. Yoongi hit him on the ass. Hard. Jungkook let out a yelp.

"Hurry up, we have to get back."

After Jungkook finished and the seats were pristine, Yoongi locked the car door, they climbed the ladder (Yoongi made Jungkook go first of course,) and began the long walk back home. Jungkook sulked while Yoongi was happier than ever.

"Oh Jungkook, we made him pissed today."

He snorted. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

"Don't be an asshole Jungkook, I know you enjoyed it just as much as I did." Yoongi raised an eyebrow and shoved Jungkook up against a passing tree, his back digging into the rough bark. Yoongi kissed him aggressively, one hand finding its respective place on Jungkook's dick. His nails were digging this time and Jungkook let out a strangled moan. It must have been some kind of possessive thing, Jungkook decided. Something that he and his evil counterpart had in common.

"I know you like this, let's not make things harder than they need to be. I know you want me. I want you to beg for me."

"I do want you," Jungkook begged, his voice a whisper. "I want you to touch me."

Yoongi ran his thumb over Jungkook's nipple and went back to kissing him.

"You're such a good boy Jungkook, don't forget that." Yoongi grabbed Jungkook's hand and they resumed walking.

About five minutes passed before Yoongi was throwing Jungkook into a different tree and grinding against him. The wood was rough and Yoongi's aggressive attitude was not helping Jungkook's back.

"If we keep stopping we'll never make it home."

"If we can't fuck, then we are going to get as close as possible," Yoongi murmured, a single brief trace of gold flickering in his dark eyes. He led Jungkook's hand down his pants and allowed him to feel the bulge in his boxers. "You can feel that Jungkookie, don't disappoint me."

"I won't," Jungkook said solemnly as he gently traced his fingers across it. He wished Yoongi would take off his jeans.

"I know you won't. I want you to moan my name." Yoongi pressed up against Jungkook and slid down to bite the skin he had visited before. He licked it, testing the waters, before sucking hard. Yoongi's fingers explored around and Jungkook shuddered, telling Yoongi he had struck gold.

"Fuck, Yoongi," Jungkook moaned, feeling Yoongi smile against his sensitive, sweaty skin. He ran his tongue across Jungkook's dick before standing up and placing a hand tightly on Jungkook's ass. He tried to break skin again as he went back to aggressively kissing him.

"Yoongi," Jungkook moaned again as he let Yoongi push and pull him every which way. He liked it when Yoongi was aggressive. He liked it when Yoongi got too rough and left him in bruises and blood. He liked it when Yoongi turned him into a masterpiece.

They pulled away feeling light-headed, and Yoongi moved Jungkook forward to look at his back. It was torn to shreds; blood was everywhere. He grimaced.

"Sorry Jungkook, I didn't mean for that to happen."

Jungkook shook his head. "It's not your fault. Besides, I don't care."

Yoongi pulled Jungkook close to him (Jungkook still wished Yoongi wasn't wearing any clothes.) He kissed Jungkook softly before pulling him farther down the path.

Jungkook was extremely uncomfortable walking back. The closer they got to the building, the closer to people he was. What if Jennie and Chae (well, Hoseok) were doing perimeter checks and saw the two of them? Jungkook would die.

“I can hear you thinking all the way over here. What’s up?”

“What’s up?” Jungkook turned towards Yoongi and glared at him like he was crazy. “Well, I’m fucking naked for one thing, thanks to you, and two, I’m covered in blood. Oh, and we can’t forget the fact that I’m going to have to walk through that building to my room which is in the fucking back, and pray nobody sees me. But wait: there’s more! What if Jennie and Hoseok are casually strolling around looking for security breaches? Wouldn’t it just be utterly fantastic if they happened to see us?”

“Jungkook, don’t be mad. It was just a joke.”

“Well sure it’s a joke for you, you’re probably having the time of your life aren’t you! I’m the one that has to be humiliated!”

With a sigh, Yoongi shrugged out of his shirt and tossed it Jungkook’s way. Jungkook glared, but that didn't stop him from tying it around his waist.

“You’re still an asshole.”

“What do you want me to do Jungkook? Strip down too?”

“That would be a wonderful idea. I’ll have you know that the shirt you left in the woods was one of my favorites.”

“Jungkook, don’t be mad.”

“I’m not -” Jungkook sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not mad, I’m just annoyed.”

“You look good.” Yoongi was back to smirking and Jungkook flipped him off. “I’ll get you back to your room without anyone seeing you alright? And then you can get me back.” Jungkook nodded, and they continued walking.

Fortunately, neither Jennie nor Hoseok was out, and Yoongi unlocked the door quickly to usher Jungkook inside. He turned around to face Jungkook and placed his hands in front of him.

“Here’s the plan. You follow behind me and if I see someone I’ll distract them long enough for you to get past. And if we run into Tae, get the hell out of there.”

“Alright, good plan.”

They got lucky. Nobody was around and they were almost to Jungkook's room when Hoseok's door swung open and he locked eyes with a blushing Jungkook.

"Oh my god," he started, already heaving with laughter. Jungkook's face turned even redder, if possible, and continued down the hallway, his head down. Yoongi followed smugly. "Use a condom!" Hoseok yelled down the hallway, laughter echoing as he turned the other way. Jungkook wanted to crawl into a hole and never leave.

He slammed the door shut behind them and immediately went into the bathroom to get a towel. Yoongi sat down on his bed and began picking at loose threads on the comforter.

"I'm going to die," Jungkook muttered as he came back out with the towel strung over his shoulder. He tossed Yoongi's shirt to the side.

"Oh come on Jungkook."

"Yoongi, this is Jung Hoseok we are talking about. Hoseok, who just saw us wandering through the hallway, me with no clothes on and you without a shirt. What do you think he thinks we did?"

"But we didn't," Yoongi pointed out. Jungkook shook his head and sighed with frustration.

“Doesn’t matter. He’s going to spread rumors and I’ll be the laughing stock of this place for as long as I live.”

“Do you hate it here Jungkook?” Yoongi asked quietly. He didn’t look up from the duvet. Jungkook sat down next to him and folded his arms.

“It’s not that I hate it here, I don’t. Everyone is nice and it’s much better than my old apartment. It’s the fact that I’m different. I’m replaceable. In this place, I’m viewed as a pet. I’m lower than low on the pyramid.”

“Jungkook -”

“You said it yourself, you hate the human race. I’m nothing to you guys. The only reason I’m even here is that I made a dumb mistake. You’d be living normal lives and doing your normal thing if I hadn't so rudely interrupted.”

“Don’t say that. You’re important here.” Yoongi moved closer to Jungkook and reached for his hand. “You’re important to me.”

Jungkook scoffed.

“Jungkook, I realize our current relationship isn’t something you had in mind, but you’ve got to believe me when I say you’re important. I know I act one way one minute and a different way the next, but you’ve got to trust me. Without you, I would still be cowering in my office fighting myself.”

“You’re still fighting yourself.”

“But thanks to you, the enemy is starting to retreat.” Jungkook stared at the floor. “Would you like me to make some nerdy history reference or should I save you the trouble?”

That got Jungkook to crack a smile. “You should say it so I can make fun of you.”

Yoongi playfully shoved him. “The Allied Powers weren’t doing too well in World War II against the Nazis until America came in. Without America, Korea might not have ever been Korea. Jungkook, you’re my America.”

“You’re such a nerd.”

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.” Yoongi raised an eyebrow, a smirk rising to his lips as Jungkook rolled over and groaned.

“Don’t make me relive World Literature class.” He pushed himself off the bed and pointed to the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower.”

“I’ll be here.”

“Unless...” Jungkook dug his foot into the ground and refused to make contact. He couldn’t believe he was about to ask this question. “You’d care to join me?”

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Yoongi was still smirking and Jungkook felt like an idiot. He groaned again.

“Alright Shakespeare, get in the bathroom.”

Yoongi happily obeyed.

\---

Later the two of them were tangled in the sheets of Jungkook’s bed, their bodies radiating a halo of warmth. Yoongi was tracing the dark scars that ran up Jungkook’s arm gently while Jungkook stared up at the ceiling. It was nice doing normal things with Yoongi. It made Jungkook feel like things could be normal, that their weird relationship was normal.

Even though it was far from normal.

“How are you doing?” Jungkook asked quietly. He turned to look at Yoongi who was still absorbed in the lines running through his veins.

“I’m okay. I feel peaceful. Safe. Calm. He’s still quiet. I think earlier put a toll on him.”

“That’s good.” Jungkook couldn’t help but glance at the long scar that crossed Yoongi’s abdomen. He had been curious about it since the first time he saw it. “Yoongi?”

“What’s up?”

“How did you get that scar?” he leaned over to trail his fingers across his face and Yoongi shivered. He sat up and shuddered out of Jungkook’s reach. The look on his face told Jungkook he didn’t want to talk about it, yet his mouth started moving anyways,

“I got in a fight. I didn’t know Jin at the time, so he wasn’t around to fix it.” Yoongi shrugged and pulled his knees up to his chest. “It was dumb really, but the injury was pretty bad. I was lucky I didn’t lose my eye.” He gestured to the white lines that ran under Jungkook’s collarbone and a pinkish one that crossed over his chest. “What about you?”

“I had a big mouth. I mean, I still have a big mouth, but back then I especially did. I was young and naive and talked way too much. So I got punished for it.”

“Mm.” silence rang out for a moment before Yoongi spoke again. “We’re both pretty messed up, aren’t we?”

Jungkook chuckled softly. “Yeah, I guess we are.” Yoongi reached for his hand and gripped it tightly.

“Do you ever miss your family?”

“Yeah. I guess I do. I just hate the fact that I wasn’t good enough for them, you know? I wonder how I would have turned out if things had gone differently.”

“I think about that a lot too. What would have happened if my brother was the one who ended up like me? Would I have been afraid of him? Who would I have been? But I would never wish this burden upon anyone else. I’d feel too bad for them.”

“You cope okay,” Jungkook responded as he began picking at the sheet in front of them. “Maybe there are alternate versions of us somewhere out there.”

“Everything is great for them. They’re happy. People love them. They don’t have problems to deal with.”

“They’re doing what they love every day and don’t look back.”

“Two-story house with a picket fence, two kids, and a dog.”

“The dream.” Jungkook rubbed at his eyes. “Maybe there’s a version of us where we’re superstars.”

“Like, idols? Singing? In a group?”

“Yes.”

“Just the two of us?” 

“Well, we’d have other members with us.” 

“How many?”

“Geez, Yoongi, I don’t know? Like, five other guys? How many do you need for a group?” 

“That’s ridiculous. I would never be dancing on a stage. Especially not in some idol group.” He rolled his eyes as Jungkook laughed.

“That’s why it’s an alternative universe. Have some fun here, Yoongi.”

“Hard to have fun when everything you do has to be serious.” Yoongi exhaled loudly and squeezed Jungkook’s hand. “Thanks for making me feel normal. I haven’t felt that way in a while.”

“I know. Things are gonna get better, I promise.”

“I hope you're right.” Jungkook knew Yoongi didn’t believe him.

Jungkook wasn’t sure if he believed himself.


	10. 010

Months flew by with nothing exciting coming up in the schedule. Everyone followed their normal routines; Tae was having to do a lot less now that Yoongi was back to doing his work. Life went on.

Yoongi and Jungkook still practiced their exercises. Yoongi was getting much better, and the other guy was getting angrier. He still had slip-ups, of course, and sometimes Jungkook would leave with his arm aching more than usual. All that mattered was that things were getting better, just like Jungkook had said. Never in a million years did he think that would happen.

Jungkook had left Yoongi sleeping in his bedroom for breakfast; the previous night Yoongi had struggled and he needed to regain strength. Jungkook hated leaving Yoongi alone, but he was famished. It had been a while since Jungkook had walked down to the dining room by himself. It reminded him of how much he hated it.

The thing is, Jungkook probably wouldn’t have been pulled into Jay’s bedroom by the arm if Yoongi had been with him. He wouldn’t have watched Jay turn the lock and force him to sit on the bed if Yoongi had been with him. And he certainly would not have been as terrified if Yoongi had been with him.

“Jungkook! It’s so good to see you! It’s been far too long.” Jay clapped his hands together and smiled. Jungkook forced himself to smile back and tried his hardest to look like he wasn’t freaking out. “It’s almost like you’ve been avoiding me, but you'd never do that, would you?” Jay sat down on a folding chair right across from him.

Jungkook gulped. “No, I’ve, uh, just been busy.”

“With the boss, right?” Jay leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Nice guy. Too bad he’s got that Jekyll and Hyde thing going on.”

“Easy,” warned Jungkook, his voice low. He stood up and looked at Jay with wary eyes. “If there’s no reason for me to be here, then I’m going to go.” Jay stepped in front of him smoothly and placed a hand on his shoulder, nails digging into the light fabric.

“Jungkook, take a seat. I’m not going to ask again.”

Jungkook sat down. He didn’t want to, by all means, he had spent weeks avoiding Jay, but now it looked like this was going to happen and he wasn’t getting out of it.

“So Jungkook,” Jay began as he sat back down in his flimsy chair and crossed his legs, “You’ve had plenty of time to think about my offer.”

“You know Jay,” Jungkook scratched his head nervously, “I don’t know about this.”

He laughed. “You haven’t even made a pro and cons list in those months? I realize you’ve been busy my friend, but come on!” Jay shook his head and pushed himself up out of the chair. Jungkook watched as Jay paced his room. Jay’s room looked like a prison cell. It didn’t even look lived in. He had been here for a couple of months at least, so why did it look the way it did? “I’ll help you out. Let's start with the basics, shall we?

"I’ve found people who are more than willing to work on this project. It’s a great project too; I have no doubt it will go places. You would be my partner. Nothing would go through if you didn’t agree with it first. We would discuss everything with you.”

Jungkook’s palms were clammy. He wiped them on his jeans.

“It seems your worries haven’t exactly gone away, have they? Sure, you and Yoongi are on good terms now, but in the future? What’s going to happen in the future? You’re still afraid Jungkook, still afraid he’ll realize you’re no good and leave. You’re nothing but a human, you’re going to wither away while he continues to shine. And now that you’re helping him get rid of Hyde, that just gives him more of an excuse to walk away.” Jay was smug and Jungkook could feel his blood boiling. He knew Jay was right; he just didn’t like listening to him say it out loud. “But the dude isn’t only in your nightmares, he’s in your dreams too. The things you want to do to him, that’s naughty, Jungkookie.”

Jungkook turned red.

“Can I tell you something? Looking at you, I never would have thought you batted for that side of the team. I mean, look at yourself. Girls would fling themselves at you and you wouldn’t have to move a single muscle.”

“I don’t uh, know, uhm, exactly...” Jungkook couldn’t finish his sentence. Jay made him feel very uncomfortable.

“Look at you, too embarrassed to even reply! Adorable.” Jay laughed again. “But since you seem to really want to fuck Yoongi, we'll stick with that. Except oh wait, you can’t fuck him, because you’re human and that makes things vulnerable. I can see what he’s afraid of too, and nothing shows him missing you. He’s not even afraid you’ll leave.” He leaned down until his breath was warm against Jungkook’s ear. “He won’t miss a human like you. You’re replaceable.”

Jungkook ducked his head as Jay sat back down in his chair. “We could make you irreplaceable Jungkook. Yoongi would beg you not to leave. You’d have him at your feet.”

“That sounds like an unhealthy relationship,” responded Jungkook through gritted teeth.

“Here’s the thing. If we can genetically modify and shape talents, we can design them to be better than any old talent. Anything you want, we can give you. Maybe you want to be able to move things with your mind? Maybe you want to be invisible. Maybe you want to be cold as ice or as hot as fire. We can do that. You’d be special because you’d be the first. You’d be an idol. You Jungkook, you would be incredible. You would be a god.”

He couldn’t believe he was listening to this nutjob speak.

Jungkook couldn’t believe he was considering saying yes.

“Yoongi’s been showing you around his mind right? You think you can’t do that back. So we give you the ability to do that and really impress him. Anything you want, we can do.”

“I don’t know man,” Jungkook said quietly as he stared at his fingernails. “I feel uneasy about the whole thing.”

“I can guarantee it’ll work. We won’t do anything to you without your permission, and certainly not until we are certain it’s going to work. We can run trials; you’d be the final result. We’ll super soldier you Jungkook. Forget Captain America, you’ll be the best thing on this planet.

“And shall I remind you we can make you live just as long as Yoongi? Think how happy he’ll be when he discovers you’re now like him. There won’t be any limits. You can live happily ever after fucking each other night after night. If you don’t want to do it for me, at least do it for him. Don’t you think the guy deserves to be happy?”

“Of course,” Jungkook whispered.

“Well, what do you say Jungkook? You want to become the impossible?”

Jungkook looked Jay in the eyes. He was smirking, one hand raised, and Jungkook, he felt like this could be a new chance for him. These people would accept him. Yoongi, he would feel better about their relationship. It wouldn’t be weird. They could enjoy themselves. And maybe Jungkook didn’t need to have powers, he only needed to be similar to Yoongi’s species.

He would be the main focus. Jay wouldn’t do anything Jungkook wasn’t comfortable with.

What could go wrong?

Jungkook took a deep breath and gripped Jay’s hand tightly. Jay made a quiet sound of satisfaction.

“Welcome aboard Jeon Jungkook.”

Jungkook nodded his head. He was still uneasy about his decision, but he felt like he was making the right one. Yoongi deserved the best in life.

Jay stood up and dusted his hands, even though there was nothing to be dusted off in the first place. He unlocked the door and pulled it open. “I’m so happy with your agreement, but let's keep one thing clear. You are to tell absolutely no one about it, understand? I will know if you decide to betray me.” Jay’s voice got low and he had a look of pure terror on his face. “However, if you do decide to make that terrible mistake...” The room seemed to drop ten degrees in temperature.

The walls looked like they were melting. Dark liquid dripped down them slowly, and Jay-- well he didn’t look like Jay anymore. He looked like...

No. That’s not right. Jungkook rubbed his eyes, but Yoongi was still standing in the doorway with malice. His eyes were gold and his hair was bleached and his hands were not coated in black gloves, but thick blood. It dripped sloppily onto the floor below.

“Yoongi’s going to leave you, and I’ll be there to kill you when he does,” Agust D laughed bitterly, and pain shot throughout Jungkook’s body. The main source was coming from his arm, where the skin was starting to melt off. He could see blood and muscle and bone-- it made him want to puke. Agust D took a step forward and shoved his hand through Jungkook’s chest; Jungkook could feel him squeezing his heart with all he had.

He couldn’t breathe.

Something kicked him in the stomach and Jungkook came back to reality with a gasp of air. While he coughed loudly on the hard ground, Jay stared happily from above.

“There’s more where that came from.” One eyebrow raised later, Jay was disappearing through the open doorway, leaving Jungkook shaking in his skin.

\---

Jungkook had lost every trace of appetite and went back to his bedroom. More worry coursed through him; what had he agreed to? Jay was going to kill him. Jay could kill him. This was horrible.

Maybe Jungkook could back out of it; it wasn’t like he had signed any papers. He would firmly tell Jay that it was a bad idea and he didn’t want any part of it. There were other humans out there, he could simply find another one.

The problem was, there was a part of Jungkook that wanted to do this. He wanted to do this for Yoongi because Yoongi only deserved the best, not what Jungkook was. Jungkook was nothing. And so, he was stuck.

Jungkook came into his room quietly so as not to wake up Yoongi, but Yoongi was already awake. He came out of the bathroom with a towel loosely held around his waist and ran a hand through his soaking wet hair. Jungkook had to admit, that was hot. 

"Hey, Jungkook. I was wondering where you went." The towel fell to the floor as he went digging through clothes in a duffel bag Yoongi had brought upstairs from his room. Jungkook cleared his throat and tried to avoid having his eyes wander across Yoongi's body.

He failed.

"Sorry, I went to go grab breakfast. I didn't want to wake you up, since uh, last night was tough for you."

Yoongi didn't answer until after he had pulled on all his clothes. Jungkook watched sadly as he covered up. "That was one battle I wasn't winning." Yoongi had spent most of the night as Agust D locked in the bathroom throwing insults at Jungkook left and right. Neither one of them had gotten much rest. "So you ate then?"

"I ate." He lied. Jungkook felt bad, but he couldn't tell Yoongi what he had been doing. Yoongi came over and tapped his fingers softly on Jungkook's arm, leaning in to kiss him.

Jungkook pulled away with a sigh and dropped down onto his bed. He couldn't do this, not right now. Yoongi plopped down next to him, his hands twisting together in defeat. He shot Jungkook a sideways look of worry.

"What's wrong, Jungkook?"

"I don't know." Jungkook chewed on his lip and directed all his attention on a smudge on the sleek finish of his guitar. He would have to wipe that off.

Yoongi slid an arm over Jungkook's shoulders. "Come on, you can tell me. You've been helping me out, let me help you."

"What if I was like you?" Yoongi looked at Jungkook in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"Species wise. What if I was like you guys? Like with powers."

"That stuff doesn't matter Jungkook. You don't have to be like that."

"Who are you kidding Yoongi? You told me you hated humans. You can't suddenly change your mind."

"I hate a lot of things. I don't hate you. And although I am irked by humanity, I am not irked by you. You're the most beautiful thing on this planet."

Jungkook scoffed and moved out of Yoongi's reach. He didn't believe him. "Who are we trying to fool? There's no way this is going to work."

Yoongi's face dropped and Jungkook could practically hear his heart shattering. He didn't want to hurt Yoongi, never in a million years, but they had to face the facts. Yoongi was a mystical enigma and Jungkook was nothing but a waste of time and space.

His voice was shaky when he spoke. "Jungkook, how could you say that?"

"Have you heard the theories people have about you? About you living forever? Yoongi, I'm going to die. Why would you want to be with someone who's going to die? I'll be old and crumbling and you'll still be beautiful and exquisite. You won't have to deal with me anymore."

"I don't..." Yoongi went quiet. He started wringing his hands once more. "I don't know if that's true. But you can't think about that stuff. You gotta live in the now. Please Jungkook, you're so important to me. Don't throw all of this away. I need you. You said you'd help me. You promised."

"I'm not going to break my promise. I'm just saying we should get used to being platonic friends because whatever we have is not going to last forever." Jungkook felt tears burning at the corner of his eyes and he cursed under his breath. It seemed all he has done since coming here was cry. "What if I was like you Yoongi? What if I could do freaky shit? What if I was strong, and could take care of you? Don't you want someone like that? Someone like you?"

"You already take care of me. You don't need to be like me."

"Shit, Yoongi, we can't even have sex! What kind of relationship is this? It's messed up!”

Yoongi sighed loudly and raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Believe me Jungkook, I would love to have sex with you. And it's not like one day we won't be able to. I'm working towards that, we are working towards that. Is our relationship different? Yes. But I want it to be that way. I don't like you any less as a human then I would as a talent. You've got to believe me." There was something in Yoongi's voice that made Jungkook feel like he wasn't being fully honest. Maybe it was the fact that Yoongi wasn't looking Jungkook in the eyes, or that he was back to wringing his stupid hands.

"I've got to go." Jungkook pushed up from his bed and started to go towards the door; Yoongi grabbed his arm firmly and pulled him back around. Hurt flashed across his face.

"Jungkook, please. You're scaring me."

"I just need to take a walk."

"We were going to practice again. Remember?" Yoongi looked hopeful for a second before Jungkook crushed his spirit with a simple shake of his head.

"That's going to have to wait." Yoongi let go and Jungkook left through the door.

\---

Jungkook felt bad for leaving Yoongi hurt, but he knew things were going to get better when he could afford to take care of him. They would be better off with Jungkook as a talent.

Everyone would.

He decided to go to Namjoon and Hoseok's room. Namjoon had said Jungkook was welcome to visit, and now was better than ever.

Jungkook knocked three times and the door was pulled open wide by a completely naked Hoseok. He had a giant smirk on his face as Jungkook threw his hands over his eyes with a loud groan.

"Jesus Christ, Joon!"

Hoseok laughed loudly. "Hey man, don't act like you don't like it. What can I do ya for?" Jungkook still refused to look and kept his hands over his face.

"Hoseok?" Namjoon called from inside their room. Jungkook could hear movement. "You asshole, go get some fucking clothes on." The sound of skin to skin contact rang out and Jungkook didn't dare open his eyes until Namjoon assured Jungkook that Hoseok had left.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to ask if you could do the calm thing. I'm on the edge of a panic attack." With a nod, Namjoon ushered Jungkook into the room and pointed to the sofa. The minute Jungkook sat down, he felt a wave of tranquility fall over him and sighed thankfully.

"Can I ask why?" Namjoon questioned as he pulled a small silver flask out of his pockets. He took a swig before handing it over to Jungkook.

Jungkook took more than one sip. He downed the entire thing.

"Jesus, that bad?" Namjoon raised an eyebrow and Jungkook moved his shoulders up and down lazily.

"I've got too many thoughts. They're pounding against my skull and I want to rip my brain out of my head."

He clucked his tongue. "I guess that's one way to put it."

"It's Yoongi. Things aren't going to work out between us, so I'm thinking that-"

"You little fucker." Namjoon and Jungkook turned towards Hoseok who was leaning against the framework of the bathroom door fully clothed. He looked pissed. "You son of a bitch!"

"Woah, Joon! Hold on!" Namjoon raised his hands in defense and Hoseok glared at him. He growled.

"Don't play your little emotions game with me Namjoon, if I want to be mad then I'll be mad." Namjoon backed off. Jungkook stared curiously at an angry Hoseok as he turned his glare towards him. "You can't hurt him Jungkook. You can't build him a fucking castle and tear down the walls. I swear to god if you do something stupid I'm going to-"

A lightbulb in the room exploded, small pieces of glass raining down onto the three in the room. Jungkook winced as that famous ringing noise increased in his head. Hoseok clenched his fists.

"It's not going to work right now, Joon!" Jungkook shouted back defensively. He stood up from the couch and stepped towards Hoseok. Namjoon no longer was making him calm. "I can't do anything for that man. I can't do anything for anyone here!"

"You're such a fucking idiot Jungkook! Are you so blind that you can't see you've already done so much? Don't turn into an asshole just because you're upset over something so stupid."

"This isn't just about Yoongi, it's about everyone in this place. You don't think I see the way people look at me? Why do you even bother being nice to me? Is it out of pity?"

"You're just looking to start a fight over every little thing, aren't you? Jesus Jungkook, we don't think we're 'better than you.' Don't pull the pity card."

"I'm not pulling any card!" Jungkook dropped back down to the sofa in defeat. "I'm having this stupid war with myself over one decision I already made."

"What's that?" Namjoon asked calmly. Hoseok raised an eyebrow.

"I can't say." Jungkook knew he was getting dangerously close to telling them, and he certainly didn't want Jay coming after him. Jungkook just needed someone to talk to about it because it was already starting to eat him up inside.

"Oh come on." Hoseok waved a hand and squeezed in between Namjoon and Jungkook. "Don't do this shit."

Jungkook exhaled and went to work massaging his temples. He was developing a headache he didn't want. "Just let me ask you a question. Would I be more valuable if I was like you?"

They seemed taken back by the question. The room filled with tension (Namjoon's work, Jungkook assumed) and Hoseok cleared his throat.

"That's the stupidest question I've ever heard."

"Yes," Namjoon replied, and Hoseok shot him a death glare. Namjoon only shrugged. "I'm being honest. We are more developed than humans, are we not? Stronger, faster, smarter... I'm not going to lie to you Jungkook. But it's okay that you're human. You're certainly the most helpful human I've ever come in contact with. You've done a lot for Yoongi, and not many people have the power to do anything for that man."

"I could do more if I wasn't human," Jungkook muttered under his breath. He stared at his boots.

"Well, no point in fussing over something you can't change." Namjoon patted him on the knee and stood up from the sofa.

Except I can.

Jungkook forced a smile. "I know. It's dumb. I'm sorry for wasting your time."

"Nah, I told you to stop by anytime. We are friends dude." Jungkook felt calm again. He was thankful for that.

"Well uh, thanks. For letting me stop by." He stood up to leave when Namjoon reached out for his arm.

"You gonna be okay Jungkook?"

Jungkook nodded. "Probably. I'll get over it."

"I'd be happy to take you out for another drink," Hoseok offered as he raised Namjoon's empty flask. Jungkook shook his head.

"Another time maybe. I promised Yoongi I'd help him out." With one more smile, Jungkook disappeared through the door and down the hallway.

Jungkook apologized to Yoongi when he saw him. Yoongi had gone down to his office and was draped across his chair with his feet on top of his desk playing with the hem of his hanbok when Jungkook walked in. Yoongi glared at him and swiveled his chair the opposite way.

"Oh come on Yoongi, don't be this way." Yoongi didn't answer, so Jungkook sighed dramatically and leaned against the desk. "I'm sorry I said all that shit back there. I didn't mean it. I care about you, and I want us to be together. Come on, let me kiss you."

He turned back around with a smirk, tapping his fingers together like the supervillain in a superhero movie. Jungkook grinned. "That's my baby boy."

And then Yoongi was quickly grabbing a fist full of Jungkook's shirt, yanking him further over the desk so he could kiss him harshly. Their tongues met and Jungkook felt Yoongi's teeth graze his bottom lip. Jungkook placed his hands on the desk and made his way around, not breaking the kiss for a second. Yoongi moaned as Jungkook pushed his back into the rough edge of the desk.

"I want to throw you up here and fuck you," he mumbled into Jungkook's mouth, an apology following immediately after. Guess their exercise was going to start now. Problem was, Jungkook didn't want to pull away. He loved Yoongi's touch-- he wondered how much better it would be when he was like Yoongi himself.

When Yoongi was digging his nails into the back of Jungkook's neck and insults were being muttered into his mouth, he knew it was time to pull away. Jungkook nudged Yoongi back down into his chair and pulled a handful of zip ties from a desk drawer. Once Yoongi was secure, he stepped back and sat in a chair across the desk with his hands in his lap.

Watching Yoongi turn was always the hardest part. Sometimes he would snarl and thrash, other times he would scream and pull his wrists raw.

And sometimes he would stare with dead eyes.

Jungkook was tired today, he didn't want to deal with Agust D, but he knew he had promised Yoongi and a promise was a promise.

"Somebody is having a midlife crisis," he sang as he eyed Jungkook curiously. His tongue darted out across his lips and Jungkook matched it with an eye roll.

"Don't want to fight you today, so whatever you have to say, get it over with. Let's see how Yoongi is feeling."

Not-Yoongi cooed mockingly and tilted his head. "Aww, but it's not fun when you aren't phased by it. Come on Jungkookie, what do you say we have some fun? Cut these ties and let me fuck you so hard you'll be sore in the morning." Laughter rang out. "You'll also be dead in the morning, but the little stuff isn't important."

Jungkook stretched out his legs with a sigh and pushed back into his chair. He knew that when he was a talent, he could handle all of Agust D's shit. Maybe the asshole would leave him alone.

"Tempting, but I'm going to have to turn down your offer."

"What a shame. It might be the only time you'll ever get fucked by Yoongi." He raised an eyebrow. "Yoongi hasn't been a very good boy lately. It's starting to irritate me."

"Mm, I'll let him know to keep it up."

"You're a real jerk Jungkookie, you know that? But I can't deny, I can see what Yoongi sees in you. You're sexy. I'm not stupid. And the things Yoongi wants to do to you-- I can't help but wanna do them also. Are you into kinky shit? You seem like you would be."

If Jungkook had been drinking water, he would have choked. Instead, magenta spread across his face and he ducked his head to hide it. Agust D giggled mockingly and it sounded horrible like someone was kicking a cat.

"We strip you down to nothing and burn all of your clothes in this extravagant fire. Then we chain you to the wall, and we take a knife and watch your blood stain your skin. We run it in your hair, we paint your arms, I get a healthy hold on that nice dick of yours; you'll be screaming Yoongi's name in seconds. Don't deny you're not into that, Jungkook."

"Knock it off." Jungkook's voice came out squeaky and he was still speaking into his shoulder.

"Don't be embarrassed Jungkookie, it's normal behavior. Oh! I had a wonderful idea. What if Yoongi sucks you off again? Would you like that?" Jungkook bit down on his shoulder when he felt something stir down below. He couldn't believe he was starting to get hard by this evil son of a bitch. The worst part was that he wasn't finished. "Yoongi takes control, and you like it. You like when I urge him on to do sick twisted shit, because you're naughty and fucked up just like me. Yoongi's gonna touch you, going to trail his fingers all up and down your body until you're on the brink of an orgasm, and then you'll be screaming for him to do something, anything. And then he'll slip a finger, two, three fingers, inside of you, and you'll continue to moan his name and fidget under his touch..."

Jungkook palmed his growing erection through his jeans and cursed under his breath. Agust D grinned with satisfaction.

"I knew you were sick, Jungkookie, I knew it. And Yoongi, hope you know he's seeing all of this. He's pulling at me, trying to topple my power, but I'm having so much fun with you right now. Are you enjoying yourself?"

Jungkook couldn't get it to go down. He cursed again and tried to ignore the now gigantic bulge in his pants that wasn't going to be satisfied.

"I want to watch you touch yourself Jungkook, would you give me the honor? I can feel Yoongi getting excited just at the thought of seeing you naked. Oh, how badly does he want to fuck you. Except Yoongi doesn't want to do it normally, you know, the boring way. He wants to do some kinky shit. Like electric dog collars. Would you be up for that? You'd be wearing one of those while Yoongi dug his nails into your ass, and every single time you did something bad he'd shock you and you sick twisted little fuck, you'd like it. You'd beg him to do it more." Jungkook hit the back of his head on his chair repeatedly and tried not to look at Agust's smug expression. He wanted this to be over so badly. "Just do it Jungkook, do it right here right now. I know you want to. Yoongi isn't going to come around anytime soon and you have to have that satisfaction, I can see it all over your face."

"I'm not going to do that," he said through gritted teeth, although his hand was toying with the waistband of his pants and the thought had crossed his mind. But he wasn't going to do that, not with Yoongi in this condition. He would especially never admit the crazed supervillain made him hard.

"Yoongi wants to see it, I can feel him begging. You aren't going to let him down are you?"

Jungkook couldn't do this. He scooted backward out of the chair too quickly and it got knocked to the floor.

"Leaving so soon Jungkookie?" Jungkook ignored him and pulled Yoongi's pocket knife out of his pants. He laid it on top of the desk and began backing out of the room, his eyes cautiously watching Agust D.

He felt pain shoot up his scarred arm the minute one foot crossed the threshold; he hated leaving Yoongi like this but he honestly couldn't stand to be down here and needed to leave. With one more look at his stupid smirking face, Jungkook pulled the door shut and locked it. He'd come down later to fix things.

\---

After spending an hour in the shower thinking about how utterly messed up his life was, (and okay, yeah, maybe Jungkook did spend a good amount of time satisfying himself) Jungkook hunted down Jin to go check up on Yoongi. He would have done it himself, but Jungkook was a little nervous Yoongi would bring up the fact that an evil psychotic killer managed to give him a boner strictly by talking about Yoongi himself. Jungkook was okay with pushing that moment deep in the back of his head, nestled in between the time his mother walked in on him and an old high school girlfriend having sex and the time he broke his arm jumping off the roof of his home the first time he ever got drunk. Jungkook didn't need to think about any of those things ever again.

He traveled down the hallways leisurely, constantly running his hands through his wet hair. Jungkook needed a haircut; he wondered if he would be allowed to go out and get one. And while he was out, Jungkook was going to buy some hair dye. His turquoise streaks were starting to disappear with each haircut and frankly, he didn't like the way they looked. He wondered if he should bring the bleached blonde back, the color that reminded him of Agust’s hair and his bloodlust eyes. Jungkook never was afraid of blood; he has seen plenty of it during the drug business. It was only recently that he was starting to become accustomed to it; it was maybe even starting to get him excited.

Jungkook wondered what would happen if Yoongi walked into his bedroom to see Jungkook laying on the bed casually, his thick hair freshly trimmed and sucking on the blood trickling down his fingers from a small cut. Maybe Jungkook would even smear some down his face - Yoongi could kiss him, rub the blood on his face and lick it off his cheeks. 

He shook his head with a scowl. What was wrong with him? Was D getting that much into his head? That was gross. Everything about it was gross and yet, Jungkook wanted it to happen. He could picture Yoongi with bright golden eyes and bleached hair and a smirk, his tongue running over his lips as he whispered, "You dirty boy, I know you're into that shit. You want it. You want me.”

Jungkook mentally kicked himself and shook his head like a wet dog, as if that would help scatter the thoughts in his head. Sweat was starting to perspire near his hairline and he wiped it away with the back of his hand.  _ I'm so fucked up _ , he thought as he made his way into the dining room. At their usual table sat Jimin and Tae with their hands intertwined in clear view, along with Chae, Jennie, and Lisa. It had been a while since Jungkook had talked to them since he had been so preoccupied with Yoongi and their exercises. Maybe he would start acting normal if he was in public.

"Hiya Jungkook!" Jimin beamed as Jungkook slid into an empty chair at the far end of the table and forced a small smile. Jungkook was going to act normal.

"Hey! How have you been?"

"Wonderful. Things with Yoongi are going well, I assume?" He raised an eyebrow, but Jungkook wasn't going to give him the advantage. Jungkook was acting normal.

"He's getting much better at self-control."

Tae grunted. "I'll believe when I see it."

Jimin pulled gently on Tae's arm. "Have some faith in the guy. We did practically raise him to some degree."

"Yeah, and he turned out super great didn't he?" Tae rolled his eyes. "None of us turned out super great.”

"At least he's coming upstairs," Jennie added as she moved positions. Jungkook saw her slide her hand under the table. "He's doing his work. He's getting better."

Jungkook nodded his head firmly. "Thank you, Jennie."

"He's behaving like a normal person!" cheered Chae as she pumped her fists. Tae rolled his eyes at her.

Jungkook had missed this. He had missed engaging in normal conversation (well, almost) with friends. It wasn't that he didn't like spending time with Yoongi, no, he certainly did. It's just that Jungkook could only get through with so many rough kisses and hickeys and insults and pain in one day. He knew it wouldn't always be like this - they were working towards better and bigger things. And soon, Jungkook would be like everyone else at the facility and conversations would be even more exciting. Jungkook would understand, he could get involved, he could run and jump and—

"Jungkook?" Jimin peered at him with eyes full of worry and Jungkook shook his head to snap back into reality. He hadn't realized he had gotten that lost in his mind; the others had started a completely new conversation. He apologized and they started up their conversation once more. Jungkook stared at the wall at the back of the room, laughter and chatter fading into the background with the bright lights. He took a deep breath through his nose and, no. Something wasn't right.

Jungkook smelled something strange, but he couldn't put his finger on it. It smelled putrid, like something you'd smell in the alleyways of the city. What was that?

He looked at the others; no one seemed phased or off by the atmosphere in the room. But then it clicked: it was gas.

Smoke. Fire.

And then—

The hissing of a fuse,

The clicking of a light,

An explosion with enough force to throw Jungkook to the ground.

Blood,

Blood,

And more blood. There was ringing in Jungkook's ears but his vision was blocked by debris and hazy smoke. It didn't matter in the end.

Jungkook couldn't feel anything.

\---

Yoongi was down in his office, scribbling something in an old notebook when he heard the explosion. Of course, he didn't know it was that exactly. It shook the building and gave him an uneasy pit in his stomach.

_ Something's wrong baby boy, you might want to let me go check that out. _

With a sigh, he dropped his pen onto his desk and stood up from the chair he had been strapped to only hours earlier. Yoongi rubbed his wrists softly; they were still hurting. D had wanted to stay in charge-- he couldn't believe the things he had said to Jungkook.

And shit, Jungkook, because Yoongi wasn't sure what had made such a loud noise upstairs but he didn't know where Jungkook was at the moment and that was worrisome.

_ That's right, let your emotions take over. It's not good for you to be controlling in a state like this. _

“Shut up.”

_ Make me you worthless piece of garbage. _

Something was telling Yoongi that he needed to go upstairs and see what was going on. His own heart was beating quickly, and he really wanted to start wringing his hands, maybe coat them in his freshly washed gloves, but Yoongi knew he probably didn't have time. He could feel that godforsaken asshole writhing around inside of him and he bit his lip to avoid scowling. Instead, he disappeared out the door and took the stairs two at a time.

The minute he stepped up into the hallway, Yoongi could tell something was wrong. Jungkook wasn't in his bedroom, first of all, but the hallway itself was covered in a hazy grey that seemed to swamp the lights. He smelled smoke, and D was more alert to his surroundings. Yoongi told him to shove it and continued warily down the hallway. His footsteps seemed to pound loudly against the floor and his heart was about to beat out of his chest. He passed Sooyoung and Chaewon peeking out of their bedroom with fear all over their faces. Screaming was coming from the dining room. Yoongi swallowed loudly and continued.

The minute he saw the flames, Yoongi became hysterical. He started shouting for Jin because there was a gigantic hole in the dining room wall filled with sharp jagged metal, flames, and the horrible metallic smell of blood.

_ Come on Yoongi, let me in. Let me take over. _

He ignored Agust D the best he could and stepped over broken tables and raised flooring. He spotted Tae slumped against the wall, a trickle of blood sliding down the side of his head. Yoongi was to him in seconds, grabbing his arm like a lifeline and shaking him gently. He prayed he was okay because if Tae was dead, Yoongi didn't know what he would do.

"Tae," he whispered loudly, words pouring out with a tone he hadn't expected. Tae answered with a muffled groan. Thank god, he was okay. "What happened?"

Tae didn't answer. Yoongi assumed he had fallen unconscious. After checking to make sure he was still breathing, he continued on his way, still shouting for Jin.

A few others were pulling themselves out of the mess, tears dotting their faces as they went to help others. Yoongi still hasn't seen Jungkook.

"Goddamn it, Jin, WHERE ARE YOU?" Yoongi hadn't been this hysterical since the first time he had watched Agust kill someone. He just wanted to make sure Jungkook was safe, that Jungkook hadn't been in here and that he was okay. Then he would hug him tightly, kiss him gently, and they would go back to Jungkook's room and make out until Yoongi couldn't deal with it anymore.

"Yoongi?" Jin's black mess of hair popped out from behind a table that had been flipped on its side, tears staining his face. Yoongi felt his breathing hitch.

No.

No, no, no, no, no, no, NO.

Yoongi walked slowly because he knew what was on the other side of the table and he didn't want to face the truth. He shakily raised a hand to his face to wipe away tears he hadn't realized had started falling.

Jin was hunched over Jungkook's beaten and battered body as he sobbed loudly. Jungkook was covered in blood; it was pouring out of a cut on Jungkook's temple, matting his hair to his forehead and running rivers down his neck to his shirt. There was a burn on his arm that was so bad it scarred black. Yoongi could feel Agust D cackling inside of him, telling him  _ you fucking idiot, I told you this would happen _ . Yoongi screamed in anger and punched the tangled twist of splintered wood, slivers embedding themselves into his fist and creating their shallow pools of blood. Yoongi wanted to kill himself. He hadn't been around to protect Jungkook, and now Jungkook was dead. He was dead.

"I'm so sorry, Yoongi," it was hard to understand what exactly Jin was saying because he was crying so hard. Jin had treated Jungkook like his own son, had protected him, and taken care of him, and offered only the best of advice. He wasn't losing a friend, he was losing family.

For a second time.

Yoongi noticed blood staining Jin's nice shirt; he had gotten hurt as well. It was most likely healed, but whatever, whoever, had broken in and bombed this place had hurt his friends and killed the person he loved. And that was the truth.

Yoongi loved Jungkook. He loved the way Jungkook made him feel, safe and secure and appreciated and important. He loved how Jungkook put up with his constant complaining, how he treated Yoongi kindly and put up with him even though he was a raging lunatic half the time. He loved the way Jungkook put Yoongi before himself, spending long nights helping him fight with whispers of encouragement and kisses and hugs and gentle strokes of his fingertips. He loved the way Jungkook moved when he played the guitar, how he looked when he was angry, his wavy streaked hair and his tiny cheek scar and his big brown doe eyes and his piercings and tattoos. He loved the way their mouths fit together and how Agust stirred with jealousy inside of him because Jungkook was Yoongi's and nobody else's.

Now Yoongi was never going to be able to tell Jungkook that.

Jungkook didn't deserve to die this way. He didn't.

"I was too late," Jin sobbed as Yoongi sank to his knees. He could feel wood and metal digging into him but Yoongi didn't care one bit. "I was too fucking late!"

"What happened?" Yoongi asked as calmly as he could, his eyes watching how uncomfortable Jungkook looked. He knew he was dead, that it didn't matter, but Jungkook didn't deserve this.

"People broke in. I think it was another clan, a group... There were so many of them. They were screaming and yelling and they took our people and our things and then they left. So many people were injured, and Jungkook, oh my gosh Jungkook, he got hurt so badly and there was so much blood and Yoongi, I'm so sorry."

Yoongi continued to stare at Jungkook's corpse, his eyes starting to fill with anger. They had killed Jungkook. They had broken in.

They had destroyed Yoongi's happy ending.

This meant war.

"I'm going to revive him," Yoongi said suddenly, his sentence ended with a snarl. Jin looked at him with curiosity and a little fear.

"But Yoongi--"

"But nothing. Nobody deserves to die this way. We forced him to stay. He's supposed to die of old age seventy years from now, not blown to bits by our own fucked up species." He exhaled loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose. D moved within him excitedly, knowing what Yoongi was going to do. "I know I've never revived a human. It's going to put a huge toll on my body and spirit, so Agust's gonna have the reins for a long ass time. But I have too."

"You know you won't--”

"I know Jin!" Yoongi yelled loudly, another round of tears making their way down his cheeks. "I fucking know. Just, please. Carry him downstairs for me." Jin nodded and shifted Jungkook's broken body into his arms. Yoongi led the way down the hall with his head high, tears silently pouring. The others stared with grief, a mixture of horror and tear-stained expressions meeting Yoongi. They walked all the way downstairs where Yoongi pushed open the heavy door and listened to it creak with wear. He dropped to his knees in defeat and choked down a sob as Jin laid Jungkook in front of him.

"I'm so sorry, Kook," he whispered. A tear slid off his nose and landed on Jungkook's arm. Yoongi turned up towards Jin. "I touch him, I go inside. You lock the door and take Jungkook to his room. Fix him. Make him perfect again. Give him whatever he needs. Tell him I care about him and I'm glad he's ok. Tell him," Yoongi choked, "tell him we can't touch anymore. Tell him he'll die if we do, and maybe us not being together is for the best." Agust D was throwing insults and comments and begging Yoongi to "hurry the fuck up." Yoongi retaliated with a polite "fuck you."

He then turned towards Jungkook and leaned down, pressing his lips gently against Jungkook's soft, perfect ones. It was cliche, sure. Yoongi could have touched Jungkook anywhere. But Jungkook was Yoongi's escape from the world: Jungkook was something out of a fairy tale. He was going to kiss his prince one last time.

Agust kicked him hard, and Yoongi was forcing himself into the dark room behind him. He watched as Jin locked the door with worrisome eyes; Yoongi started screaming. Nothing mattered anymore. His self-control exercises didn't matter if he didn't have a reason to have self-control.

Yoongi watched through the eyes of his evil counterpart as Jin took Jungkook up the stairs. Jungkook was okay, and that was all that mattered.

But Yoongi no longer had a reason to live.

He curled in a dark corner of his thoughts and cried.


	11. 011

Jungkook woke up with a pounding headache.

He felt extremely dirty, even though he had taken a shower only hours earlier. His bed smelled like smoke, and not the good kind that came from campfires. It smelled closer to cigarette smoke, but not really because it didn’t reek of nicotine.

Jungkook raised a hand to his forehead with a grimace as he tried to push himself up against the wall. His brain was spinning, trying to recall what had happened, and how he had ended up back in his bedroom. Had he fallen asleep? Passed out?

Why couldn’t he remember what had happened?

It wasn’t like it had happened long ago. Yet, he couldn’t remember a single thing.

“Okay Jungkook,” he whispered to himself as he slid off the bed and headed towards the bathroom. Normal people didn’t speak to themselves, Jungkook knew that, but then again, Jungkook wasn’t normal. “Think slowly and calmly. What happened last?” He talked with Jay, visited Namjoon and Hoseok, met with Yoongi...

That was it. That was the last thing he remembered. Maybe Yoongi knew.

Unfortunately, that thought was going to have to wait, because Jungkook found himself staring in the mirror with wide eyes as fear began to pit his stomach. Dried blood matted his hair to his forehead, yet there was no cut or main source for the blood. His clothes were ripped and dirty and covered in more blood, and there was a giant pink rigid line on his arm. Not to mention, the dark scarring looked even darker than usual.

“Something bad happened.”

What had happened after he visited Yoongi? Oh God, Yoongi. Had he gotten hurt?

Jungkook wasn’t going to wait around for an answer. He was scampering to push open his door in seconds, taking in a deep breath to smell more of that hazy smoke smell. Jungkook was starting to get more worried. He practically glided down the stairs, using the railing and wall to jump three or four at a time.

Jungkook’s stomach did flips when he saw the locked door. It was good because this meant Yoongi hadn’t gotten hurt, but also bad because Yoongi wasn’t Yoongi and it had been a while since Jungkook had left. He knocked gently and swallowed when Agust approached the door.

Surprisingly, he didn’t say a word. All the blonde did was slash his thumb across his throat, making the universal gesture for killing someone with a perfect teeth grin plastered on his face and walking back into the darkness of Yoongi’s room like nothing was wrong.

Jin was next on Jungkook’s list. Jin always knew what was going on.

He made his way down the hallway carefully, feeling uneasy when the smoke smell got stronger. This was strange. Was he having amnesia? But that made no sense. Maybe it was short term, but how had that happened in the first place? Had he hit his head and Jin came and healed it? It was plausible but still left the question for the giant pink scar that now marked his skin.

He had been aiming to go to Jin’s room, but there was a commotion in the dining room that sparked his attention; Jungkook could hear it far before he arrived. When he found himself in the large room, the first thing he noticed was that gigantic hole, which was already freaky beyond belief. It was storming pretty hard, rainwater leaking in. There was smoke rising from the edges, wisping away and hissing from the rain. Most of the debris had been pushed out of the way, leaving plenty of room for a makeshift infirmary. Jin was trying to help everyone at once, his main focus on serious injuries. So it hadn’t just been Jungkook. That still didn’t explain how he ended up in his bedroom.

Tae sat at one of the untouched tables holding an ice pack to his bruising head. He also had blood caked in his hair and on his skin, his clothes ripped and grimy. Jungkook also noticed Jennie and Kai leaning against an untouched wall, murmuring to one another. Kai had a large gash on his arm but seemed unphased by it. Jennie had a growing, blotchy purple bruise on her head.

Even amongst all the commotion, Jungkook realized everyone wasn't in here, which probably meant not everyone had been around when whatever happened and still left him confused beyond all belief. He needed answers.

“Jin!” Jungkook walked quickly, waving when Jin looked up from healing Lisa’s injured shoulder. He pressed his lips into a thin line and whispered something to Lisa before meeting Jungkook halfway.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he stated firmly, carefully nudging Jungkook back the way he came. Jungkook shook him off.

“I want answers, and I want them now. What on earth happened?”

“You don’t remember?” Jin looked sympathetic for a split second before he was shaking his head with a scowl. “Doesn’t matter. You need to go back to your room and get some rest. I’ll come to talk to you as soon as I can.”

“I’m not going to do that until you give me some answers. For Christ’s sake Jin, there is a giant hole in the wall and a bunch of injured people here. Tell me what happened.”

He sighed. “Ok, ok, fine. There was a break-in. Another clan. They outnumbered us numerously, and we really couldn’t do anything about it. They took our people, some of our stuff, they left everyone injured, you were killed, and—” Jin seemed to have realized what he said, and slammed a hand over his mouth as his eyes grew to the size of saucers. He cursed.

Jungkook stared, puzzled. “Killed? What the hell are you talking about?”

“I can’t talk about this right now. I need to help everyone. We need to assess--” Jin was cut short by the rumbling of the building, a steady crack ripping through the already torn floor and disappearing through the hole into the woods. A tree cracked in half, roaring as it shifted and fell to the ground with a deafening boom.

“THOSE FUCKING ASSHOLES!” Tae screamed, ice pack discarded on the floor as his body tensed with closed fists. He was shaking with anger. “THEY FUCKING TOOK JIMIN! I’M GOING TO RIP THEIR FUCKING LIMBS OUT OF THERE BODY AND PAINT MY WALLS WITH THEIR BLOOD, I’M GOING TO FUCKING KILL THEM!” The ground shifted, one side of the floor rising higher than the other. Jungkook stepped to the side. Jin was throwing his arms out, moving closer to Tae, telling him to stay calm, but Tae wasn’t having it.

And then, the room filled with tension and fury as Namjoon came barreling down the hallway equally as mad. The minute he was in the dining room he was punching the wall with a deafening crack, not even phased by his now crumpled hand. “Those fuckers took Hoseok too. I’m going to murder them. I’m going to FUCKING RIP THEIR HEADS OFF!”

“Chaeyoung’s gone too,” Jennie spat out, turning out from the wall and standing as tall as she could. She was furious too, it was obvious. “I’ll feed their corpses to the birds. Nobody kidnaps my sister and gets away with it.”

“You guys,” Jin started, his voice calm. “We need to stay calm, don’t let emotion cloud your better judgment!”

“Fuck you, Jin,” and Jungkook was shocked to see that was Kai swearing, his eyes dark and voice low. Thick darkness was flooding the corners of the room and seeping inwards. “Soobin is missing, and I have a pretty damn good idea of where he went. So you don’t get to fucking tell me to calm down.”

“Yeojin’s gone too,” Olivia pointed out, sadder than she was angry.

“Look,” Jin tried to speak over everyone as best he could. “I know they took our people, and we are going to get them back, don’t worry. But we need to think things through completely before we start making accusations. We need to formulate a plan, figure things out--”

“Taehyun’s gone too,” somebody yelled from the back, and Jin looked furious. More furious than Jungkook had ever seen.

“This means war,” Tae sneered. That was the last straw.

“Everyone in here needs to shut the FUCK UP AND LISTEN TO ME!” Jin’s voice echoed loudly, even with the rainstorm outside. The darkness evaporated and the shaking stopped. Even some of Namjoon’s tension disappeared. Everyone went quiet. Satisfied, Jin took a deep breath. “Will someone please go bring everyone in here? We need to have a group discussion.”

“I’ll do it,” Chaewon volunteered, her voice quiet. She tugged on Sooyoung’s arm and they disappeared down the hallway. Still, no one dared to move.

“Look. I know you are all upset and distraught, I am too. We need to figure out everyone who is missing. We need to strategize and plan from the bottom up.” Jin pinched the bridge of his nose as his eyelids fluttered shut for a second.

“Where’s Yoongi?” Tae asked. He was still pissed beyond belief, which was very evident, but his tone wasn’t as harsh and loud, for that matter, as it had been.

“Yoongi's not home, and will sadly not be home for a couple of weeks. And I’m sorry Tae, but you are in no state to be leading us, so I’m taking control for now. We'll come up with a plan, got it?”

Tae didn’t argue.

Jin waited until Chaewon had returned with the rest of the group. They filed in against the back wall. “Okay,” he muttered to himself, “from the beginning.”

“Everyone, listen to me. Another clan broke into our building, injured and kidnapped our people, and left. We don’t know where they came from or who they are, but we know this is properly our declaration of war.

“I don’t know how they could have found us, but it would make sense if they had someone on the inside. We need to figure out everyone who is missing.” He paused, eyes scanning the crowd as he counted under his breath. Everyone remained silent. “Jimin, Chaeyoung, Hoseok, Taehyun, Yeojin, Soobin, and Jay are all missing. And at the moment, all we know is that they're not here.”

“I bet it’s Taehyun,” someone said from the crowd. The room filled with murmurs.

“No, it’s probably Hoseok.”

“What about Chae?”

“Why does it have to be somebody missing? It could be Tae for all we know.”

“Enough!” Jin yelled again. “Stop arguing. I can assure you it is no one here. I could tell if you were hiding something.” He closed his eyes. “I’m sifting through everyone’s emotions. Everyone seems... no, that’s not right...” Jin’s eyes flickered open. He seemed worried. “I think I know who it is.”

And then something seemed to click in Jungkook’s head. He remembered Tae telling him about a nearby clan that liked to torture humans. Except, what if they weren’t torturing, but experimenting? And they kidnapped talents to use their DNA?

Jungkook was suddenly very happy Jay had left. He could have died, going off and agreeing to be their test subject. They could have turned him into a monster.

“Jin,” Jungkook spoke, and everyone looked at him. He cleared his throat and continued. “Tae, a long time ago, told me there was a nearby clan that was rumored to be kidnapping humans and torturing them. But Jay, he told me he wanted to make humans like you guys, so there wouldn’t be any individuality. If everyone's super, then no one is super.” No one was stopping him, so Jungkook kept going. “But what if they aren’t just torturing humans, they’re experimenting on them? Trying to make them like you, and maybe getting closer to achieving?”

“That would make sense to why they need talents. You can’t make a clone without the physical copy.” Jin rubbed his chin, upset with the news. “It’s a whole covert operation, right under our noses this entire time.”

“Can’t believe we let that motherfucker into our home,” Tae growled.

“Wait Jungkook, Jay told you about wanting to turn humans into talents?” asked Jin. Jungkook nodded his head. He knew he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone this information, but Jay was no longer here, and Jungkook would no way in hell do business with him. He was a traitor.

“He told me what he wanted to do, but said he had been looking around for people to help him out. I think he trusted me because I’m a human amidst all of you.”

“But the dude’s clan had been doing this for years, or so it seems,” Kai added as he crossed his arms over his chest. Jin nodded.

“It would also make sense to why Jay is not feeling any fear right now.”

“So we take the motherfucker out,” Namjoon pushed, digging his fist into his other hand. “We kill every single person in that clan.”

“Well, it’s a little hard to do that if we don’t know where they are, correct?” Jin dragged a hand down his face with a sigh. “I’ll come up with a plan. We'll find them and put them down. But for now, we need to worry about the problems here. Everyone needs to take care of one another. If you have an injury that can be bandaged, please do so. I’ll try and heal everyone as best as I can, but I only have two hands.” Jin pointed to Jiwoo, who seemed shocked that someone was even talking to her. “Jiwoo, I need you and two others to go down to the storage room and bring back our medical supplies and emergency food. I don’t think anyone is going to want to cook for a while. Jennie?” Jennie looked over at Jin. “You want to see if you can find some sort of lead?”

“Sure thing.” Jennie was gone two seconds later.

“Yeonjun, can you gather some people to start cleaning up in here? We need to find some sort of tarp to cover up the hole.” He nodded, pulling on Beomgyu’s arm gently.

“Sooyoung, I want you to be in charge of training. If we are declaring war, we need to be prepared for it. We can’t let emotions get the better of us. This isn’t your average sparring match, this is for real. It’s serious. I’ll sort you into groups and we'll start focusing on perfecting our skills to the best of our ability.

“Lastly, everyone needs to stick together and help one another out. I want close ties on everyone. I need to know where you are at all times. We don’t want something like this happening again.” Jin looked around the room at everyone’s faces before clapping his hands together. “Okay, that’s it. Roll out. If you sustained a serious injury, let me know and I’ll get right on top of that.” Commotion once again filled the room, and Jungkook prepared to go help move wreckage out of the way when Jin grabbed his arm.

“Jungkook, I need you to go to your room. I’ll be over to speak with you as soon as I finish here.”

Jungkook narrowed his eyes and shrugged out of Jin’s reach. “You know what? No. I’m just as useful as everyone around here. I didn’t get hurt. I can help!”

“For God’s sake Jungkook, can you please listen to me? I just need you to do this for me. You did get hurt, trust me. You got very hurt, and you need help.”

“Why is Yoongi out of commission? What happened?”

Jin sighed loudly. “I can’t talk to you about this right now. I promise I will answer all your questions in a little bit. Just, please, go to your room. I’ll be in there as soon as I can.” Jungkook groaned audibly but nodded his head in defeat.

“Fine.” He dragged the word out and turned on his heel to sulk down the hallway.

Just because he was human didn’t mean he couldn’t help. He was useful. He was strong. He had wit. If it hadn’t been for him connecting the dots, they might still be at square one. So ha, Jungkook was useful. He was extremely useful.

“They better let me train,” he muttered to himself, because dammit, he wasn’t going to sit back while everyone marched to save his friends. He wasn’t the family dog, he was a person who was very capable of helping.

When Jungkook threw open his bedroom door, he let it slam against the wall. Then he was stripping, pulling off his dirty clothes, and stepping into a scorching hot shower. He liked the way the water burned when it hit his skin, evaporating quickly. Jungkook was tired of getting treated like a child. He wasn’t one. He was pretty damn sure he was older than some people here.

“Go to your room Jungkook, get some rest Jungkook, let the adults take care of things Jungkook,” he mimicked Jin’s voice mockingly, anger laced thick within his tone. He wished Yoongi was himself, but then again, Yoongi would probably be the same way. “Jungkook, you need to be protected, blah, blah, blah.” This time he was mocking Yoongi’s falsetto, scowling as he stepped out of the shower sopping wet. Jungkook didn’t even bother to dry off, just slipped into boxers and a t-shirt, letting the fabric press against his wet skin as he dropped to his bed and stared at the wall in front of him.

Damn, did he wish he had a ball or something.

\---

Jungkook wasn’t quite sure how long he stared at that wall, but he knew it was a long time. His legs had fallen asleep by the time Jin was stepping into his bedroom and closing the door quietly behind him. He sat down next to Jungkook with a sigh.

“So, I know you’re mad at me. But I have good intentions, I promise.”

“Whatever,” Jungkook mumbled.

Jin raised an eyebrow. “You don’t need to act like a child.”

“Well, you know what?” He jerked to face Jin, eyes filling with anger and frustration like a balloon. “I’m going to act like a child if I get treated like one.”

“Jungkook, I don’t know what better way to come out and say this besides just coming out and saying this, but you were dead. You legally died. I couldn’t heal you, because you were dead.”

Jungkook scoffed. “Right. I’m still here Jin, in case you didn’t notice.”

Jin reacted frantically, grabbing Jungkook by the shoulders and shaking him harshly. He said his words nice and slow. “Listen to me! You. Died. That explosion. Killed. You. You hit your head, your arm sustained a terrible burn, and your heart was no longer beating. That’s why you had blood on your head and your clothes. That’s why there is now a scar on your arm because I had to go help everyone else who was hurt in the explosion. I couldn’t finish.”

Jungkook blinked, letting the information soak into his head. He gulped. “Is that why I can’t remember anything?”

Jin nodded. “I would assume. And Yoongi...” he took a shaky breath. “Yoongi brought you back to life.”

“What?” Jungkook had heard Jin perfectly fine, he just needed to make sure Jin was being serious. Because... that was serious.

“He’s never brought a human back to life, but he said... well, let’s put it this way, you didn’t deserve to die like that. You didn’t. So he gave you another chance at life.”

“Oh my God,” whispered Jungkook, because he had been dead, and Yoongi had revived him. Yoongi had used his power to save him. Him, of all people.

“It put a heavy toll on his spirit and physical body, so he’s not going to have much strength to do anything. Unfortunately, Jungkook, I’m afraid I have some bad news.” Jin cast his eyes to the comforter, letting his hands tangle in it below. Jungkook felt his heart sink.

“Because Yoongi broke the natural law of things by bringing you back to life, you guys, you can’t, uhm, touch anymore. You can’t touch Yoongi. You touch him, and you die again. Just like that.”

Jungkook couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t see. He felt like he was dying.

“He wanted me to tell you that he’s glad you’re okay, that he cares about you a lot. But you guys, you can’t be together anymore, and maybe that’s for the best.” Jin sighed. “I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you this.”

His own words being thrown in his face.

Dying by his hand.

Jungkook shifted closer to Jin and wrapped his arms around him, burying his face in Jin’s shirt. Jungkook was trying his hardest not to cry, but he hadn’t ever been that strong.

Jin gripped his hair gently, soothing him as he cried violently into his shoulder. The only good thing Jungkook had was ripped away from him because he had to go and die like a loser.

“Hey, shh, it’s okay. I know it’s hard to lose a relationship, but I can’t tell you how thankful I am that you’re alive. I was a mess when I realized I was too late. It reminded me too much of...” his words trailed off, leaving the room in a tangle of Jungkook’s muffled sobs. Jin was thinking.

“I had a family before I came here Jungkook. A good, beautiful family. We were perfect. I had a job, we went out to the movies, we ate dinner together as a family. I had a wife and a beautiful, outstanding, wonderful daughter.

“I was a late bloomer with my powers. My parents always told me I would probably end up getting something because it was ‘just in my nature.’ I always wanted to help people. But that doesn’t matter. Anyways, I was already pushing my late 20’s and it didn’t look like I was getting that extra kick in truly being a talent. So I forgot about it. But as the year went on, I realized that maybe things were weird, that I could do weird stuff, but I ignored it. I didn’t expand upon it. It didn’t matter to me, because I was occupied with the good things in my life. My family, my job, my friends.

“One night, we were driving home from my parent’s house, trying our hardest to get back home. It was snowing so badly, and my wife kept telling me to pull over, but I wasn’t listening. I was determined to make it back. It was late and dark, and we hit a patch of black ice and the car went spiraling off the road down this hill. Everyone was screaming, and all I can remember is just this horrible, horrible, pain, and then darkness. The snow was filling the car, coming in through the broken windows. There were glass and blood everywhere. I could hear crying too, but—“ Jin’s voice cracked, “it didn’t last very long.”

“I was looking around, trying to figure out what was going on, and right before my eyes, my broken arm was healing itself, the bones mending themselves back together. Every cut, every bruise, just disappearing, and all I could do was stare.” Jin was starting to cry himself now. Jungkook didn’t dare breathe.

“My wife told me she loved me, and I just stared at myself. I didn’t even look at her, I couldn’t look at her, because I knew how broken and hurt she was and I was afraid. But, holy hell, I could heal. I could heal, but I didn’t, and my family died right in front of me. I could have healed them, could have saved them, and I didn’t. And a single day hasn’t gone by where I don’t think about that. I hate myself for that. It’s my fault I lost them.

“Tae found me a few days later, trying to commit suicide. He talked me out of it and brought me here. And I’ve been here ever since.”

“But the point of this story, Jungkook, is that I have a new family here. Yoongi, Jimin, Tae, Hoseok, everyone else, I care deeply about them. And you. You, Jungkook, out of anyone here, you feel like a son to me the most. You’re important to me, and seeing you dead on the floor, that pit in my stomach that told me I had failed, and I wanted to kill myself all over again. What Yoongi did was selfless, and I can’t thank him enough for saving you. I can’t lose you Jungkook.”

Jungkook shifted to better properly hug Jin tightly. “You’re important to me too, Jin. Thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me. It means so much to know you care about me that way. If you ever want to toss a ball around or crack a dad joke, I’m here.”

Jin glared at him. “Don’t be an asshole.”

Jungkook raised his hands defensively. “I’m not. I’m just saying. You can even scold me for saying the word fuck.”

“Alright, that’s it. You’re grounded.” he sounded serious, but there was a glimmer of enjoyment in his eyes and the corners of his mouth were tilted slightly.

Jungkook groaned loudly and let his back fall onto the bed. “But Daaaaaaaaad!”

“Don’t make me use your full name mister, I don’t want to hear another word from you!” Jin was full-on grinning now, and Jungkook couldn’t help but return it.

“Thanks, Jin. For making me feel better.”

“No, thank you. For understanding. And I’m gonna always be here, you know. I’m always gonna be around. If you need to talk to someone.”

Jungkook nodded. “I know.”

Jin patted Jungkook’s knee and stood up from the bed. “You really should try and get some rest. Tomorrow we can see what you can help with. As for tonight, I have a lot to do. Do you need anything?”

“A baseball would be great.”

Jin rolled his eyes. “I’ll see what I can do.” Then he was smiling once more and disappearing behind the door.

Things were shitty, that was very blatantly evident. He didn’t understand how, but somewhere inside him, Jungkook could feel a small flicker of hope.

Now, to sleep. 


	12. 012

It was chaos in the building for the next couple of weeks.

Everyone was doing something, whether it be cleaning, training, or just watching. Jin spent his days cooped up in his bedroom, eyes shut as he sifted through emotions, checking to make sure everyone was okay or seeing if he could get a read on where they might be and formulate a plan. Jennie was constantly out running and looking for some sort of trail.

Jungkook had overheard Jennie speaking with Jin; she felt the break-in was her fault. They had done security checks that day but should have stayed out there and didn’t.

Jin assured her it was not anyone's fault.

Tae never left his room. He sat on Jimin’s bed, staring at the wall in front of him, unmoving. It was terrible seeing Tae so vulnerable, so upset. Jungkook never had realized how important Jimin was to him.

The others who had lost people spent their time differently. Namjoon and Kai were with Sooyoung in the gym as much as possible, practicing combat or strictly working out. Namjoon was always mad everywhere he went, and Kai, well, it was hard to get a read on him.

Of course, everyone wanted to get the kidnapped back, and everyone was upset about it. Jungkook was upset about it too. They were his friends after all. So Jungkook had pestered Jin for a week, begging to let him help, to let him train or do something, and Jin had finally given in. Jungkook now joined Chaewon and Jiwoo for training. He was the weakest link by all means, and he was powerless, but they treated him kindly, didn’t say anything bad when Jungkook ended up on the floor covered in bruises or pinned against the wall by Chaewon morphed into himself.

And Jin.

Jin was a good, organized leader. He had assigned everyone groups, and they were to do things together at all times (Thus why Jungkook was with Chaewon and Jiwoo). He made sure everyone was okay at all times, constantly checked up on everyone, and gave encouragement like there was no tomorrow. He was a fantastic choice.

Sometimes Jungkook sat with Jin in his room and watched him work. Sometimes he would talk to Jin about his problems, about how hard training was today, or about how he was missing Yoongi, how he wished he would get better so he could talk to him. And sometimes Jungkook had to come to Jin because he had gotten hurt.

It was true, he supposed. Jungkook did miss Yoongi. And he had every right to. Things had gone south for them when they had been going so nice and smoothly, and Jungkook assumed Yoongi wasn’t going to get back on that path. He had daydreams, about the two of them still talking and being friends even though they couldn’t touch, but Jungkook knew Yoongi was going to blame himself for everything that happened to Jungkook and that just wasn’t his fault.

Jungkook did visit, of course. He’d stand outside the door and watch Yoongi from the outside, knowing perfectly well it wasn’t Yoongi, but it was still nice to pretend. He’d give him updates from upstairs and ignore Agust’s wheeze laughter and insults for trying to speak with Yoongi. “He’s too far gone,” he’d spit out with a smirk, and Jungkook would have no choice but to turn and go upstairs. He came downstairs to see Yoongi, not to be forced into oblivion by a crazy psychopathic villain.

Today Jungkook had training, and to be completely honest, he wasn’t looking forward to it.

“Why did I think this was ever going to be a good idea,” Jungkook mumbled as he pulled open the gym door. Chaewon and Jiwoo were already inside warming up as he dropped his bag on the floor. Sooyoung was over in the corner scribbling something inside a notebook. An update log for Jin, he guessed.

“Hey, Jungkook!” Chaewon beamed as she waved frantically. Her appearance was flickering between several different people; her mind must have been somewhere else. Jiwoo waved as well.

“Hey.” Jungkook joined them on the mat and cracked his knuckles. Here went nothing.

“Ok guys,” Sooyoung turned around and joined the circle, firmly planting her hands on her hips. “We are doing hand to hand combat today again, so I’m going to have Jungkook with me first. You guys are welcome to practice with each other or do something else in here.” Jungkook sighed. Of course.

While Jiwoo and Chaewon went to do their own thing, Jungkook shifted to stand directly in front of Sooyoung. She flashed a reassuring smile.

“Hey Jungkook, don’t be nervous. This is why we’re practicing. We know you can’t reach the limit we can, and that’s perfectly okay. We are here to reach your limit.”

Jungkook refrained from rolling his eyes. “Right.” Okay, that was a tad too much sarcasm than he had been meaning to put out.

Sooyoung scoffed. “Alright then, show me what you remember.”

Jungkook bent his knees slightly and threw a punch, but she caught it easily. With a smirk, she was twisting his arm and using his back to slide over and give her enough force to flip him to the other side of the room. The minute his back hit the ground he winced and rolled over with a groan. Sooyoung dusted off her hands.

“Come on, Jeon, you’re better than that.” He glared at her. “You need to be one step ahead of your opponent. All the people we are planning on fighting, Jungkook, they aren’t human. They are like us. And if you are serious about fighting, you need to be two steps ahead because they will already be one ahead of you.” Jungkook huffed loudly as he used the wall to pull himself up. Sooyoung walked over to him, still talking. “I anticipated your punch because you’ve thrown that same one before. You need to spice things up. Do a fakeout, change things up. I know you’re strong, Jungkook. You need to prove that.”

“Okay. Fine. Go again.” He spun his finger in a circle and went back to his previous stance. This time Sooyoung threw a punch, and he managed to avoid getting hit. Then he was rolling around her and standing upright as she swung back around. Her punch nailed him directly in the face. “Fucking CHRIST!”

She clucked her tongue. “This isn’t the first time we’ve done this. And you seem to be doing a lot worse than usual.”

“You seem to be doing a lot worse than usual, blah, blah, blah,” he mimicked her in a high falsetto as one hand raised to his face. “I’ve always sucked at this shit!”

Sooyoung shrugged. “You aren’t terrible. Come on, one more round. You can throw the first punch.” Jungkook continued glaring but gave in with a sigh. He stood, watching her stupid face with its stupid smirk.

He’d wipe that stupid smirk clear off her face.

Jungkook threw a punch with his opposite hand, which Sooyoung easily grabbed. However, she hadn’t been expecting Jungkook’s other fist to slam into her head.

Sooyoung stumbled backward, but quickly regained her footing and charged Jungkook angrily; he crouched and let her slam right into him, sending Sooyoung tumbling as he flipped her backward. Jungkook smiled triumphantly as she stared at him from the floor, one hand rubbing at her head.

“Well done Jungkook!”

He nodded his head. “Thank you.”

“Two steps ahead. That was good. Now do something like that, every time. Oh, and uh, pay attention.”

Before Jungkook could even figure out what was going on, she had swung a leg into his, knocking his legs out from underneath him. Jungkook hit the ground with a groan.

“The enemy is going to make a countermove, even when you think they’re down. You need to pay attention to your surroundings and expect the unexpected at all times. Got it?”

“Yeah. I got it.”

“Alright. Again.”

\---

After training, which consisted of Jungkook not getting beat up as much for once, he took a hot shower and visited Jin’s room.

Jin looked up from a spread of papers covering his bed except for the spot he sat in when Jungkook poked his head in and waved him over. Jungkook leaned against Jin’s dresser.

“How can I help you Jungkook?” Jin had a smirk on his face. “You have a black eye.”

“Oh wow, thanks, I didn’t know what was on my face.” Jungkook rolled his eyes with annoyance.

Jin chuckled softly. “Is training getting better? Or do you want to quit?”

Jungkook scowled. “I’m not quitting.”

“I know.” He studied the papers for a brief moment before looking back up at Jungkook. “I’m still not any closer to finding them.”

“How’s everyone doing at least?”

He shrugged. “I haven’t checked in a while. I’ve been too busy looking at a map, trying to calculate how far they walked and how many there could have been. I mean, they kidnapped six of our people and had to get them back to their base without any trouble, so there has to be a lot of them.” with a long sigh Jin closed his eyes and went to massage his temples. “Hoseok is afraid, and he’s in pain, but not too much pain. I assume they are using them for DNA. Yeojin is quiet, Soobin... he is not enjoying his time there, no surprise, Taehyun is in a lot of pain, he’s terrified, and Jimin...”

Like the quick snap of a rubber band, Jin had slipped into some sort of trace, screaming and falling to the floor. Jungkook raced around the side to help him, trying to pull on his arm.

“Jin! Jin, you have to tell me what is going on. What’s wrong?”

“Jimin,” began Jin through gritted teeth, “Oh my god, Jimin...”

“Snap out of it Jin, don’t hurt yourself, please.”

Jin opened his eyes and his body went limp as he struggled to catch his breath. Jungkook stared in worry. “Oh my god. Oh my god.”

“What? What happened?”

“Jimin...” he trailed off, eyes wide in sympathy. “The amount of pain he was in is unbearable. I could practically hear him screaming. It was burning the inside of my eyelids... Just, oh my god.”

“We’ve got to hurry. If they are all suffering, and Jimin is close to death...” Jungkook swallowed loudly. “Oh Tae, he’s not going to be happy.”

Jin pushed Jungkook away and pulled himself back onto the bed. “We don’t tell him. We just need to hurry.” he closed his eyes once more with a shaky breath and pressed his lips into a thin line. “Chae is... nothing.”

Jungkook raised an eyebrow. “Nothing?”

Jin’s eyes shot open. “Oh my goodness!” He stood up and grabbed Jungkook by the shoulders. “Chae is our ticket in. She can teleport! How did we forget about that? Oh my god!” 

“But she’s not here. I don’t understand.”

“Chae’s in pain, but she isn’t showing any fear, and her pain isn’t even that much. I think she’s letting them think they have her. They aren’t suspecting anything. She’s just waiting to make her move."

A smile made its way onto Jungkook’s face. “That’s great news! She’ll come back here, and—”

“And we’ll be ready to make our move.” Jin sighed with relief. “I don’t know when she’ll come back, so we need to be ready at all times. We need to step up our game.” he began piling all the papers into one stack. “I’ll tell everyone about our plan. Do you want to gather everyone in the dining room?”

“Uh, yeah. I can do that.”

Jin paused to gently brush Jungkook’s arm. He smiled softly. “Thank you for all your help. Oh! And before I forget.” he pushed past Jungkook and pulled open a dresser drawer to reveal a baseball, complete with bright red stitching. He tossed it Jungkook’s way.

Jungkook let out a loud laugh as he stared at the ball in his hands. “You got me a baseball.”

“Of course I did.” Jin was laughing too. “I’ll see you in a couple of minutes?”

Jungkook nodded, gripping the ball tightly as he pushed open the door and disappeared down the hall. He went to all the main places people would be, the gym and popular hangout bedrooms, sending everyone to the room no one enjoyed stepping into. There was a tarp over the hole now, but you could still hear the whistle of the wind and the occasional scurry of an animal. He ignored all the weird looks he and his baseball were getting.

Then Jungkook stood outside Tae’s room, people chatting as they walked behind him. With one deep breath, he knocked and pushed himself in.

Tae sat on the edge of Jimin’s bed, staring at the wall in complete darkness. He was twisting his fingers around in his lap when Jungkook turned the light on. Tae glared at Jungkook with a hiss, his head ducking as eyes adjusted.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Tae. But uhm, Jin has news regarding the break-in.”

“He’ll come tell me.” Tae sounded dead.

“I’m really sorry about Jimin. But we are going to get him back, okay? That’s what the news is about. Chae is going to come back and she’ll know where the building is. Then you can take everyone down.”

“Jin’s been telling me how Jimin is. And things, they don’t seem good. He’s got a good heart, this is going to put a toll on him, and I’m so worried Jungkook, I’m so fucking scared.” his voice cracked at the end, revealing a fresh set of tears that were now rolling down his cheeks in numerous amounts. Jungkook sighed, reaching out to put an arm around Tae. It didn’t help Jungkook knowing Jimin was in a lot of pain. Tae couldn’t know that.

“Jimin’s going to be okay. He’s only been there a couple of weeks, and we are getting close to finding them. We just need to be ready to break in and get them. And we will, I promise.”

“You’re still a bad fucking liar.”

“I’m not lying, you have to trust me. I have doubts about whether or not they’re okay, but each of them is strong and I believe they’ll make it. We are going to rescue them, and then everything will go back to normal.” Tae sniffed but nodded his head.

“Thanks for talking to me. I’ve just been sitting in here, making myself worried sick, because of this whole thing. But then you... I’m sorry about what happened between you and Yoongi. But in all honesty, I’m glad you’re not dead. You’re a good person, man. I’m serious.”

Jungkook shrugged. “Thank you Tae, that means a lot. But I can’t focus on what could have been with Yoongi and me. There are more important things to worry about, like getting Jimin and the others back.” he patted Tae’s knee and stood up from the bed. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

“I will.”

Jungkook shut the door quietly behind him and finished his trip into the dining room, where the crowd was murmuring and Jin stood waiting.

For Jungkook apparently.

“Jungkook!” He waved him over and pointed to the spot next to him. “Stand here.” Jungkook obeyed. “Alright. This meeting is in session.”

Everyone piped down and directed all their attention on Jin and Jungkook, who still had that stupid baseball in his hands. He groaned internally. So much for looking professional.

“I have recently come across some good news regarding our current state. That news is about Park Chaeyoung.” Jennie perked up from his corner and took a few steps forward. Jin smiled his way. “Chae is coming home.”

The crowd cheered, and Jennie looked like she was about to cry. Lisa pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek; others were patting her on the back and whispering encouragements. Jin waited until they quieted down to continue.

“Unfortunately, I don’t know when that is going to be. This means we need to be on our toes at all times. We need to train harder, be faster, be smarter than ever before. We need to be ready. Because when Chae gets home, we are going to get a plan going and move out. We are going to save the others.” Everyone cheered again, but something didn’t feel right to Jungkook.

And that was Yoongi.

He was still in the basement, trapped, just like the others, and he really shouldn’t be left out of the loop. Jungkook realized he probably did know some stuff, as Jungkook had been telling him about it, but he thought maybe they should wait for him. After all, Yoongi was the rightful leader of this group.

Jungkook tugged on Jin’s sleeve to get his attention away from the celebrating crowd. “Jin, I feel like we should wait for Yoongi’s opinion on all of this.”

Jin sighed. “Jungkook, you need to understand that Yoongi is not going to be himself for a while. We don’t know when he’s going to even be strong enough to take control again. We don’t have time to wait. We need to get our people back from these evil sons of bitches. Do you not agree?”

“I agree, I just feel he should have some part in all of this, don’t you think?”

“We can talk about this later, alright?” with a shake of his head, he was throwing his voice back out to the entire crowd. “Okay, so remember what I said and we should be good to go. Meeting over!” He looked at Jungkook one final time before walking down the hallway. Jennie came up to Jungkook before he could escape the room.

“Hey, a bunch of us are gonna go out for drinks. You wanna come with?” She grinned hopefully, but Jungkook shook his head.

“Nah, that’s okay. I’m not a big drinks person. I’m probably just gonna go help Jin out.” Lie. “Thanks though.” Then he was practically darting down the hallway to his room.

He wasn’t going to help Jin. Not anymore.

Sometimes it felt like his opinions didn’t matter. But maybe he was just being childish.

“Whatever,” he grumbled as he stretched out across his bed. He could do whatever he wanted.

Jungkook stared at the baseball in his hand. Upon further inspection, he could see it was worn out, the stitching starting to fray. He wondered where Jin had gotten it.

And then, under a part of frayed stitching, were the initials K. M. scribbled in Jin’s handwriting with a black Sharpie. It was starting to blur away and fade. The K was for Kim most likely, but the M...

“Oh my god,” whispered Jungkook, because the gears in his head finally clicked. The ball had to have belonged to his daughter. 

And Jin had given it to him.

Jungkook quickly shoved it under his pillow, a million different thoughts coming into his head through a flood gate. Jin shouldn’t have done that, he really shouldn’t have.

Jungkook decided he was going to take a nap.

\---

When Jungkook woke up, the first place he went to was Yoongi’s locked doors. He stared at Agust curiously.

“Good to see you again Jungkook, although I’m not quite sure why you’re down here again.” he was smirking, evil as ever. Jungkook noticed that his scar seemed to be more prominent as if Agust had been trying to reopen the wound. He also notices tiny slits in his wrist. 

He had been cutting.

“You need to stop hurting him,” Jungkook said firmly as he folded his arms across his chest. Agust D rolled his eyes.

“Yoongi’s the one that asked me to do it, and you know I'll take any chance I can get to cause him some pain.”

Jungkook opened his mouth to call bullshit, but he had a feeling it probably wasn’t.

Which broke his heart.

“Jin found out Chae is planning on coming home. She’s going to lead us to the building where we can get the others.” Jungkook cast his eyes to the ground, not wanting to look at his face. Not when he could practically see Yoongi with dead eyes behind Agust’s blonde malice.

“Guess it’s time for one of Jungkook’s famous updates, isn’t it?” He scoffed. 

“I still miss you Yoongi. I hope you’re feeling better.”

“He isn’t.”

“I realized this week that there is stuff you still don’t know about me. And I thought you might want to hear.”

“Borrrrriiinngg.” He dragged the word out, completing it with an audible groan.

“My birthday is on September 1st. I don’t know when September is. I don’t even know what month it is. So I guess I better figure that out.”

“Hope you’re not expecting me to answer these back.”

“My favorite color is black, I’ve dyed my hair so many different colors but I think my favorite is black. I can sing, I love Marvel movies and I love food; I’ll eat practically anything. I also really like animals. Specifically dogs.” 

“Boy Jungkook, I am terrified of you.”

“I’ve only ever been in one serious relationship before you. It was with a girl.” Jungkook rubbed his neck awkwardly. “I didn’t exactly realize how gay I was before seeing you.”

Agust wheeze-laughed loudly, but it didn’t sound evil. It sounded like Yoongi.

It sounded comforting.

“When I was a teenager, I spent most of high school hanging out with the wrong crowd. I never took school seriously and I loved to piss off my parents. That’s why I went into the drug business in the first place. But it sucked. I got hit a lot and never seemed to do anything right.

“I have an older brother. I haven’t talked to him since I left home. I never had any close friends until I came here. I was a loser. I mean, I still am a loser.

“Oh, and Yoongi, I think I’m in love with you.”

He looked up to meet Agust's golden eyes, face masked with a smirk to just fit the mood. (Translation: sarcasm.) It was dumb of Jungkook to be doing this right now, but he had to tell Yoongi somehow and didn’t want to wait.

Agust’s expression seemed to soften, and for a split second, he looked like plain old Yoongi. Normal Yoongi. The Yoongi that Jungkook loved.

But it didn’t last long.

The blonde clapped slowly and loudly. “Wow Jungkook, what a good, heartfelt confession. Truly brought me to tears.”

“Good, cause it was for you, too.”

That brought him to a stop. He stared at Jungkook in confusion, headed tilted slightly. “What?”

“You and Yoongi are the same person, and I love everything about you guys. You’ve positively changed my life. I don’t mind dealing with you. And I’m going to be completely honest with you: I’ve gotten hard thinking of just you.”

“Well shit, I’m honored.”

“But the point is, you need to be in my life just as much as I need Yoongi in my life, and that’s the truth.”

“You are more stupid than I could have ever thought.”

“Just think about it for a minute. Think about how powerful you two could be if you weren’t constantly fighting for power. What if you joined together? What if you worked together towards a common goal? Things would be so much easier. You could truly enjoy life.”

“I don’t understand. You realize you can’t touch Yoongi anymore, right? You can’t touch me either.”

Jungkook nodded. “I’m fully aware. All I’m saying is, try something new. Something the enemy wouldn’t expect. Be two steps ahead because they are always going to be one already. Spark things up. Instead of torturing Yoongi like he’s used to, I don’t know, help him instead?” he shrugged, taking a few steps backward.

“I love you guys, I do. All I want is for the two of you to be one single happy person.”

Then Jungkook was scampering up the stairs, leaving the evil psychopathic killer confused and speechless beyond all belief.


	13. 013

Yoongi wished he knew what time it was.

Or better yet, what day it was.

He also really wanted strong, bright lighting, because being where he was right now, it was dark and damp from where he could see Agust doing whatever the hell he wanted and it was hurting his eyes. There were some days (well, maybe days, he wasn’t quite sure) where Yoongi would attempt to move, to take over, but it was like trying to move a mountain. All he wanted to do was figure out what was going on upstairs.

And he was extremely thankful that Jungkook would come down and give him information. Even though Agust D was being a dick most of the time, Yoongi was listening, and he was glad they seemed to be doing okay.

But then Jungkook said he loved him.

And Yoongi wanted to punch himself in the face.

Why did they have such poor timing? This was ridiculous. Things had been going so well, they were practicing, Jungkook was healthy, Yoongi was living like a normal person for once, and then everything had to get destroyed by Jay and his stupid clan. (Jungkook had told Yoongi they believed Jay was the inside guy. He could believe it.)

Today Yoongi had his knees pulled up to his chest, listening to Agust hum happily as he carved a set of tally marks into the wall and then went to work on whittling Yoongi’s wrist all over again. It hurt, boy did it hurt, but it reminded Yoongi that he needed to regain strength, needed to get back in charge.

Agust spoke. “Hey Yoongi, did you hear what your boyfriend said?”

Yoongi’s eyes widened in shock because Agust never talked out loud to him. He usually just warred inside their head. He tried to remember what Jungkook had said, but after he had said he loved him, Yoongi kind of zoned out.

_ Jungkook said a lot of things. _

“But this one was different.” He set the knife down on the desk and began tracing patterns in the blood. Yoongi grimaced.

_ Are you going to go clean that up? _

“Eventually. Patience, Yoongi.” After he pushed himself out of the chair, he began pacing the room. “He said he loved me. That he loved both of us.”

_ Ok, and? _

“Well that’s a little weird, don’t you think? I mean, why would he love me? He should hate me. I’ve done plenty of things to make him hate me. I tried to kill him.”

_ Jungkook has a good heart. _

“That doesn’t matter.” He raised a hand to his chin, smearing blood all over his face. Yoongi sighed internally. Great.

_ You’re making us look ridiculous. Go clean up if you’re going to monologue. _

“Shut up Yoongi, I can do whatever I want. I’m in charge. Besides, I’m thinking.”

_ Ooh, don’t hurt yourself. That’s dangerous for you. _

“I think you forgot I can hurt you a lot more than you can hurt me,” Agust growled, causing Yoongi to shrink and stand down. He didn’t need to be in any more pain today.

_ Sorry _ .

He scoffed. “Whatever. But you know what else he said? What if we worked together. How ridiculous is that? He said he wanted me to be happy. Happy. What on earth is that word supposed to mean? No one is happy.”

_ Jungkook makes me happy. _

Agust didn’t respond. He only went into the bathroom and took off all his clothes to climb into a scalding hot shower. Yoongi winced at first because damn, that water was hot, but he usually took hot showers anyway so it didn’t take long for him to get used to it. Agust watched all the blood swirl down the drain as it slid down his arm. Well, their arm.

“What would our common goal even be? If we did work together? I mean, we can’t work together. I’m night and you’re day. If night and day worked together, the balance would be thrown off. It doesn’t make any sense.”

_ It’s not night and day working together, it's the sun and the moon. They work together to create night and day. _

He sighed loudly and banged his head against the wall. “I’m not supposed to be having feelings. That’s what you’re supposed to deal with, not me. I mean, I’m not supposed to be questioning this kind of stuff. Whoever is stronger wins, and that’s me. Right? Right. Uh, I think. No! I’m right. I’m always right.”

_ You don’t sound so sure right now. _

“Don’t test me Yoongi, I can tear you to shreds. I just, I don’t-”

_ At a loss for words? That’s new. _ Yoongi felt bored. But the problem was, he didn’t feel anything. There weren't any emotions or feelings swirling around within him. It was like he was just there.

It was like they had switched places.

“Oh my god,” he said like the sudden realization had hit him right in the face. “I’m having feelings for a human. A fucking human! This...this is not right. I don’t like this.” he growled. “Yoongi, what on earth did you do?”

_ I didn’t do a single thing. This is all you. _

“It’s almost been a month. Have I ever been in control for a month? I don’t think I have. I mean, not without you struggling at least. Am I— no. That doesn’t work. I can’t be turning into you. We are different, separate people. This isn’t how things work.”

_ So are you telling me you feel like a normal person? Not some crazy psychotic villain? _

“I could think about killing Jungkook without feeling anything, and now, I feel guilty about it. He said he loved me, us, and I think I, we, love him back. He’s beautiful, he’s nice, and I could never physically harm him, never again. I, oh my god.” His eyes widened when he realized just thinking about Jungkook had made him hard. And Yoongi, he had nothing to do with it.

_ Oh boy, you are in too deep. Welcome to the Emotionator, the best emotional rollercoaster in the entire Republic of Korea. _

“Shut up Yoongi!” With a frustrated sigh, Agust ran his hands through his wet blonde hair and leaned against the wall. “I just, I need to think about this. I can’t, I don’t understand.”

_ So, what are some of the things you like about Jungkook? His voice perhaps? His soft hair? His big brown doe eyes? His tattoos? _

“Stop it.”

_ Do you like seeing him without a shirt? Do you like watching me dominate him? Which, by the way, I know you play a part in that. I can feel you. You like when things get rough and you get angry when you don’t get invited to play. _

He growled again. “I said fucking stop it!”

_ If you are serious about working together, then the minute we find a common goal, we work together. As for now, I’ll let you do whatever. As long as you hurry up and jerk off for a good while because it’s my dick too and it’s hurting. _

“Shut up Yoongi.” he was quieter this time but didn’t hesitate to start doing what Yoongi asked.

\---

It had been a month and they weren’t any closer to finding the others. Jin had expected Chae to be back by now, but he still wasn’t, and the building had been on high alert for a while and it was causing some pretty high tensions. People were starting to get angry and upset with Jin for not doing anything or making any advances.

But he’d only tell them the same thing. “Patience, don’t get in over your head.”

Jungkook was getting worried. Jin kept him updated on the status of everyone missing, but things weren’t looking good.

One day Jin knocked on Jungkook’s bedroom door. Jungkook himself hadn’t been doing much, only avoiding training because he really didn’t want to get another black eye, so he let a distraught Jin in.

“What’s up?” Jungkook asked as he sat back down on his bed. His hand shot under his pillow to pull out the baseball. For some reason, it had become some kind of comfort object to him. He never had confronted Jin about giving him his child’s baseball, because he kind of figured Jin had trusted Jungkook that much and that was important to him.

So instead, here he sat, rolling the ball between his fingers as Jin sat down on his bed and stared at him curiously.

“Do you remember when you told me Jay was talking to you about turning humans into talents?”

“How could I forget that?” he refused to look Jin in the eyes, solely because he thought he knew where this was heading.

“Uh, right. Did he, uhm, did he come to you because he had an offer? I'm just trying to figure out why he would randomly tell you all this information.”

“Well, he told me not to tell anyone. He showed me what would happen if I did.” Jungkook shrugged. “But he’s not here anymore, so.”

“He, uh, he used his powers on you?”

“Yep.” Jungkook popped the P, letting the ball fall into his lap as he adjusted his position. “I am not a fan.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to enjoy that. But you didn’t answer my question. Did he come to you with an offer? And don’t lie Jungkook, because I will know if you are.”

He sighed in defeat. “Fine. Yes, he did come to me with an offer. He presented all this information, and it seemed legit, and he made me seem like I was important, so I--”

“Wait, are you telling me you accepted his offer?” Jin’s eyes were wide when Jungkook looked up, and Jungkook blushed almost on the spot. He felt stupid now, but then? It seemed like the best offer in the universe.

“Isn’t that, um, isn’t that what you asked? If I accepted?”

“I asked if he had made an offer, not what your answer was.” Jin dragged a hand down his face. “Oh Jungkook, what did you get yourself into?”

“I don’t know. It just sounded like a good offer. I just… I wanted to be able to take care of Yoongi, you know? I wanted to be strong enough to do that, and Jay said he could make that happen.”

“You honestly agreed to be their test subject? Something terrible could have happened! How could you have agreed to that? They are taking talents, they took our people, and they are torturing them and hurting them to get what they want. They are kidnapping humans to perform these experiments on people with families and hopes and dreams and you honestly agreed to do without hesitation?”

“They said everything would be perfect, I didn’t realize they had started already, I didn’t know. Besides, you can’t be one to talk, you’re already a talent.”

Jin sighed in frustration. “Listen to me Jungkook, being this way does not make me any better than you. We are two different species, you can’t base your views upon that! To think you’d want to be a genetically modified... thing… is crazy!”

“I didn’t know Jin, okay? I didn’t know. You can’t yell at me for something I didn’t know! I didn’t know he was a double agent, I didn’t know he had a whole other clan, and I didn’t know he was a raving lunatic kidnapping people for his personal use. I didn’t know!”

“That doesn’t matter. You agreed to be turned into this monster, and you didn’t think about the consequences.”

“Yeah, well it doesn’t matter anymore because it’s not going to happen. I’ll just keep on being your little human scapegoat for the rest of my life.” Jungkook flopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling as Jin sighed again.

“I realize things are not good for you, but you need to stop being so bitter.”

“Seriously Jin? Not good for me? Not only are things not good for me, but they also aren’t good for anyone. I’m never going to be good enough to match anyone here. I doubt you were even going to let me go out on the rescue mission. The whole training thing was just a facade, wasn’t it?”

Jin didn’t answer.

“I knew it.” he folded his arms over his chest. “I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“Come on, don’t act like this.”

“I wish those thugs would have killed me. Then none of this would have happened.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m being serious. I know everyone here is nice to me, and that’s great. But I’m still different. I'm like a house cat living with a bunch of lions. It isn’t the same. It will never be the same. And now that Yoongi and I don’t have a future, I don't want to be here. I don't want to have to deal with all the pain of knowing we can never be together ever again. You guys all hide, and from what? I know you all think you’re freaks of nature, but it’s okay to go out and live life. Get a job, grab a drink, see a movie. Do human things, I don’t know.”

“You don’t have the right to be criticizing the way we live.”

“Maybe I don’t, but I am.” Jungkook pushed himself off his bed and looked Jin in the eyes. “Thanks for trying to make me feel like I fit in, but I know I never will.” Then he forced a smile and went into the bathroom, slamming the door shut loudly behind him. Jungkook slumped to the floor and focused on nothing but his breathing. In and out, in and out.

Maybe he’d run away. He could probably get away with it. They wouldn’t notice he was even gone with everything that was going on. And he wasn’t really running away but simply leaving. Jungkook was an adult who could make his own decisions. If they tried to get him to stop, then maybe they would kill him.

Jungkook would be okay with that.

He wouldn’t tell anyone where they were, of course, Jungkook wasn’t that heartless. He wouldn’t come back ever again though. Jungkook would go to the bank and get out some money, and then he would go back to Busan. Maybe he’d even go overseas, Jungkook didn’t know. He just wanted to be far, far, far away from this place. No one needed him here, and besides, he was just slowing everyone down and wasting time.

After Jin left, Jungkook left the bathroom and dropped to his knees to pull out his duffle bag. Instead, he pulled out Yoongi’s. It still had some of his clothes in it, and Jungkook pulled out a shirt. It wasn’t much, just a plain, white shirt, but it was soft, and it smelled like him. It was comforting.

Maybe he’d take that. Just as a souvenir, to remind him that once upon a time Jungkook had met someone that made him feel different. Jungkook shoved Yoongi’s shirt deep down into his bag and went back to stuffing his own clothes into it.

Maybe he could get away with taking a car. He knew they’d be pissed, but Jimin could always get them a new one. So really, it wasn’t that bad of a crime.

When he finished packing, he shoved both bags back under his bed and sat down. Jungkook stared at his guitar.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to take that with him, and it broke his heart, but maybe it was for the best. A new life meant Jeon Jungkook didn’t play the guitar anymore. Someone else could put it to use. Namjoon, maybe. He looked like he could use an outlet. Or maybe even Hoseok. Although come to think of it, Hoseok and loud instruments was probably a bad idea.

When the best time presented itself, Jungkook would take it. He was getting out.

\---

Jungkook had just gotten out of the shower, like just-wrapped-a-towel-around-his-waist out of the shower, when there were a loud thud and a groan from his bedroom. Jungkook had left the bathroom door open to let steam out, so he could see the body of a person lying on the ground, and then it clicked because holy fucking shit that’s Chae!

He pulled the towel tightly around his waist as he rushed to crouch next to a beaten and broken Chae. She was filthy and covered in blood, cuts, and bruises. There was a thick black collar looking thing tightly around her neck with a blinking red light, and it seemed to be hurting her. Jungkook pulled at it and Chae winced.

“You, can you, please, get Jin,” Chae begged, voice breathy and barely there. Jungkook nodded, and quickly pulled on clothes, not even bothering to dry off. He took off down the hall still trying to put one foot into his shorts.

Jin looked up from a stack of papers when Jungkook burst in with a glare. Oh yeah, that’s right. They weren’t on very good terms right now.

“It’s Chae,” Jungkook said while trying to catch his breath, “she’s here. In my room. She needs help. Now.”

Jin nodded and followed Jungkook closely as they ran back down the hall to Jungkook’s room. Chae was still on the floor, her eyelids fluttering as she tried to keep them open, her breaths ragged and shallow.

“Should we move her?” asked Jungkook as he pointed to his bed, but Jin shook his head. He dropped to his knees and placed a palm to the side of Chae's head as lightly as possible. Chae sighed with relief, but she still looked awful. Nobody dared to speak until Chae could breathe like a normal person.

“You want to move to the bed now?” Jin was gentle, moving his hand to different bruises and cuts. Chae had one giant cut on her upper arm, and it looked infected. Jungkook gulped.

“Yeah, that would be preferable.” she chuckled, but it ended in a grimace. Then she pointed to her neck. “I gotta find a way to get this off, it’s uh, hurting me still.”

Jin helped Chae sit up and get onto Jungkook’s bed before he examined the collar. He gestured to Jungkook, and then demanded, “Go find Yeonjun. I think he’s strong enough to get this off. He should be training with Kai and Beomgyu at the moment.”

Jungkook nodded and once again started running down the hallway. Man, he needed to gain some endurance.

When he reached the gym, he threw open the door with a large bang, causing everyone to look at him. Jungkook tried to casually lean against the doorframe, but his panting ruined it. “Sorry to interrupt, but Chae is… back… and… Jin... needs Yeonjun.” Sooyoung waved her hand to allow Yeonjun to go and the two of them started back to Jungkook’s room.

“Is he okay?” Yeonjun asked with worry, and Jungkook shrugged. He wasn’t quite sure himself.

Jungkook pushed open his door and Jin waved Yeonjun over. He pointed to the collar. “Can you get this off?”

Yeonjun nodded. He placed a hand carefully around it as Chae closed her eyes and braced for any sort of pain. With one swift yank, the collar came off in pieces in Yeonjun’s hand. He squeezed his fist and let the pieces fall to the ground in a pile of almost dust. His antlers, which had gotten bigger as he used his strength, shrunk back to two brown numbs nestled in his blond hair. Chae let out a noise of relief. “Thanks, man. You have no idea how much better I feel.”

“You’re welcome. Glad to see you're back.” Yeonjun grinned and turned to leave. Jin continued trying to heal Chae to the best of his abilities. Jungkook sat down at the end of his bed.

Chae had her head resting back against the wall with her eyes squeezed shut, breathing quietly through her mouth. More color seemed to come back to her as Jin healed another bruise or cut. Jungkook felt terrible, because if Chae looked like this, what did the others look like?

“What was the collar thing?” Jungkook finally said, only because his curiosity was eating away at him. Chae exhaled loudly.

“They counteract our powers. If we tried to use them, they’d react against us. Like if I tried to teleport, it would shock me. Except they didn’t realize I could teleport on different frequencies and wavelengths. Idiots.” She winced as she tried to laugh again.

“Stop doing that,” Jin stated firmly as he pressed down on another part of her body. Chae moved her shoulders lazily.

“Sorry. But God, that place was awful. I’m pretty sure it used to be a prison. The number of jail cells they had there, and the people, oh my God, there were so many people. Some of them could do some freaky stuff, so you had to be careful. I could feel you picking around my brain Jin, so I apologize it took me longer to get here. I just had to be careful they didn’t expect anything.”

“How are the others?” Jungkook asked. He started chewing on his lower lip.

“When we all got there, a few of us were unconscious. The others just had bags pulled over their heads. They put those collar things on us immediately. We were worthless against them. Then they randomly threw us in cells. I know Hoseok was put at the end of the hall I was in. I don’t know where Taehyun and Soobin went. Jimin was across from me, and I’m pretty sure Yeojin was in the next hallway over. You think this place is confusing? Try that place.” She scoffed. “They barely fed us. Everyone was covered in dirt and blood, and they would come in sometimes just to heckle us. They had knives and tasers and other stupid stuff, and they would just torture the shit out of everyone. There was a guy in the cell next to me named Johnny. He had a smart mouth, and they treated him worse than anyone else. I watched them kill him.” Chae shook her head slowly. “I can’t believe they could treat their own kind like that. They would come to use our blood and skin and hair and anything they could get DNA from. They weren’t nice about it either, and they certainly didn’t care for sanitation.”

“Did they have humans there too?” Jin questioned, moving his position. Chae lifted a pant leg to reveal a wrapping around her ankle that was soaked with blood. Jin undid the dressing and gently laid his hands on the wound. It was deep, and frankly, disgusting. Chae hissed, her face going white. She didn’t talk until the pain had subsided.

“Yeah, on the other side of the building. They went through humans more than they did us. Sometimes they’d just kill talents for the fun of it. I saw a few get murdered right outside my cell. It was gruesome. I wanted to puke. And Jimin...” he trailed off. Jin and Jungkook both knew he was about to say something horrible. “The collars didn’t work on Jimin, since his power just requires talking. And they, they fucking cut his tongue out. One solid slice, and he was screaming so loudly, and there was blood everywhere. I felt horrible for him. They took him out of the cell and led him down the hall, but I could still hear his screams. I could still see all the blood. I’m sure everyone in the building could. Screams weren’t abnormal, but Jimin’s, they were different.”

Jungkook raised a hand to cover his mouth. Oh God, poor Jimin. Not only that but poor Tae. Everyone in that building must have been fucking miserable.

“What about the second time?” Jin asked, his face stern. Jungkook stared at him in confusion.

“Second time?”

“Yeah. You weren’t with me.” Jin shrugged. “Did you see what had happened the second time?”

Chae nodded. “They kept taking Jimin out of his cell and leading him to someplace. And he’d come back covered in more blood and cuts and bruises, but of course, he couldn’t say anything. His eyes were always glowing blue, and you could tell that he was furious. But he also looked so broken and so fucking weak, and never, in all the time I’ve known him, have I seen Jimin like that. It was horrible.” She sniffed, and Jungkook noticed she had started crying. It wasn’t a lot, but it seemed it might end that way. She had every excuse to cry; what she went through had to have been traumatizing.

“One time, the guy that led Jimin back, he took off his handcuffs and pushed him back in, but instead of leaving, he chained one of Jimin’s hands to one of the bars. He was saying all these horrible things to him, calling him names, insulting him, and Jimin was getting so upset, and he lunged for the guy. He managed to punch him in the face before the idiot called others in, and just like that, they cut off his entire hand with a fucking knife. And Jimin was screaming all over again. And they just kept laughing. It was awful, so fucking awful. That guy doesn’t deserve anything he’s going through, I swear. So we need to hurry.”

Oh, poor Jimin.

“I’ve been preparing everyone. We just need you to rest up so we can leave.”

“I memorized the way there and back. I took the long way so I could remember how to get there. But this isn’t your average rescue mission.”

“It’s war,” Jin finished. He pushed himself up, trying to avoid getting blood on anything. “I’m calling a meeting to tell everyone.”

“The weekend,” Chae suggested. “Friday night. That’s when we should do it.”

Jungkook wanted to point out that Yoongi still wasn’t doing well, that maybe they should wait, but then he realized he was leaving anyway and there wasn’t a point.

“That’s good,” agreed Jin as he folded his arms across his chest, hands still angled to avoid staining. “We can see if everyone is ready.”

“So, are you like, in charge now?”

“Yoongi is out of commission, Tae is having an emotional breakdown because of Jimin, which by the way, none of you are allowed to tell him what happened to Jimin. We need him to fuel all his anger into getting our people back, and letting everyone else trapped out.”

“He has every right to know what happened to his boyfriend,” Jungkook argued angrily, but Jin only glared.

“Your opinion doesn’t matter Jungkook, and I’d advise you to stay out of our business. If you don’t want to be a part of it, you don’t need to worry about it.”

Jungkook narrowed his eyes, but eventually gave up and stormed out of his room. He’d leave tomorrow. He was done.

Jungkook didn’t need to go to this stupid meeting. Instead, he went downstairs to see Yoongi and tell him how shitty of a leader Jin was.

He was surprised to see Agust D already standing at the door with sad eyes. He looked like he had been there for a while.

Agust’s face seemed to light up when he noticed Jungkook. “Hey, it’s good to see you!”

“Uhm, okay...” That was weird. The blonde sounded genuine and not his normal sarcastic self. “I just came to tell Yoongi that Chae came back and that they are planning on leaving Friday night to go get the others. They’ve had it pretty bad, especially Jimin.”

He raised an eyebrow. “If Chae just escaped, they shouldn’t leave that early. The clan is going to be patrolling and looking for her. They need to wait until the excitement goes down.”

“Wow, that is a really good point.” Jungkook tilted his head curiously at him. “Is something wrong with you?”

The blonde let out a sigh in a rush of breath. “I think so. I’m going crazy. I’m having these weird feelings, and Yoongi, he’s just being so rude, and—“

Jungkook interrupted with loud laughter. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you realized what you just said. Yoongi, being rude? You, having feelings? Is it opposite day?”

“I’ve been in control too long,” he said with wide eyes. “Last week I jerked off thinking of you. Me. Not Yoongi. Me.”

“Oh.” He wasn’t sure how to answer that.

“Yoongi gave up. You need to say something to him. I don’t like feeling this way. I don’t like feeling vulnerable and having all these feelings! I’m questioning everything. He said he’d let me do whatever! Jungkook, you gotta help me!”

“Uhm, well, Yoongi, things are gonna be okay, and I know you’re tough enough to get back in control. I think at this point he might let you.” D nodded. “You know, this is weird, seeing you like this. I don’t know. It’s weird.”

“Shut up Jungkook,” he grumbled, turning away from the door.

“Have you even once wanted to hurt Yoongi this week?”

That got him to come back. “No! Because I care that it’ll hurt him! What is wrong with me?”

Jungkook smirked. “You’re working towards a common goal.”

He groaned and smacked a hand on his forehead. “But we aren’t!”

“That’s what you think. I’ll come to visit tomorrow. As for tonight, uh, have fun jerking off. I’m going to go tell Jin what you said.”

“Shut up Jungkook!” He yelled as Jungkook disappeared up the stairs.

He didn’t like this one bit.

  
  



	14. 014

Jin wasn't happy that Jungkook had interrupted his meeting, but the group agreed that Jungkook did have a really good point. And he wasn't about to tell them that it hadn't even been his idea in the first place.

"Oh, and you might want to look into some form of communication because you're going to need it," he also added, earning him another death glare from Jin. But Jin knew Jungkook was right. He sent Chae and Jennie (after a touching family reunion) to go look into it.

After the meeting was finished, Jungkook went straight back to his room. He decided he was going to leave early in the morning, right before the sun came up. Not only would it give him plenty of time to get to the garage, but nobody would suspect a thing.

He could hear people discussing plans outside his room about when they were leaving. "A couple of weeks" was what he heard, which was perfect. That gave people plenty of time to forget Jungkook was ever there and focus on more important things. He just wished he could say goodbye to Yoongi. Jungkook had said he'd come to say goodbye, so maybe, just maybe, Yoongi might be normal. He just wanted to see him smile, to watch his brown eyes crinkle because that was the most beautiful thing Jungkook swore he had ever seen in his life.

Although Yoongi might not be smiling for a while.

Jungkook went back downstairs.

Agust was still standing longingly at the door, his fingertips trailing gently across the window. Jungkook bit his lip when he noticed all the fleshy red marks that covered Yoongi's wrists. He hoped those weren't too new. He just wanted to make sure Yoongi was okay.

"Back so soon?" Agust asked when he noticed Jungkook staring at him. Jungkook shrugged.

"You gotta help Yoongi get back in control. Please, I'm begging you. I have to talk to him." Jungkook hated how whiny he sounded, but he knew this was his last resort.

Agust sighed and ran a hand through his blonde hair. "Trust me Jungkook, I have been giving him every full opportunity to take back over, but he's not trying. He's just sitting there, staring with these dead eyes and making sarcastic comments. That's my job!"

"Come on Yoongi," Jungkook whispered as he banged a fist on the door and rested his forehead against it. He closed his eyes. "I need to see you. Please."

"I'll see where I can get him by the end of the night," Agust promised, causing Jungkook to look up.

"Okay. Yeah. That sounds good."

"You should pull your hair back, Jungkook. You look hot when you do that." He smirked, causing Jungkook to roll his eyes and sigh heavily.

"See you later." Then Jungkook went back upstairs. He was first going to pull his hair back, not because it had been suggested, but because he wanted to, and second, going to play guitar until his fingertips bled. Because that might be the last time he got to do that.

\---

Yoongi was fighting with himself.

It was strange, really. Agust was basically begging him to take control, but Yoongi simply didn't care. He was okay with waiting around, making comments and not caring. But it was starting to worry him because Jungkook had come to ask to talk to him and Yoongi found himself thinking things he never in a million years would think about.

_ Let me fuck Jungkook, and then let his blood drain onto the tile. _

_ Let me torture him with knives and words and then kill him with one simple touch. _

_ Let me laugh at him while he goes on and on about missing me. _

Yoongi wasn't supposed to be thinking these things. He loved Jungkook. He would never hurt Jungkook. So why did he suddenly have the urge to just hurt him? This wasn’t how things were supposed to be.

“He wants to talk to you really badly,” Agust said quietly, but it was out loud again and Yoongi only rolled his eyes.

_ That doesn’t matter. I don’t want to talk to him. _

“But why not?”

_ Because there is no need. Our relationship is over and done with and I’m afraid I’ll hurt him. _

Agust’s eyes widened and he stared at his hands. They weren’t covered in his gloves and hadn’t been in a while (unlike Yoongi, he really didn’t care how his hands looked). “Are you telling me you’re having urges to hurt him?”

Yoongi didn’t answer.

“No no no, this is not good. This is really not good. We can’t, you can’t tell me... Yoongi, you have to take back over. Things have to go back to normal. You can’t hurt him, can’t kill him, that’s what I am supposed to be doing, not you! You’re supposed to be the good one! You’re supposed to be Jekyll, not Hyde! I’m Hyde. I’ve always been Hyde.”

_ People change. _

“People don’t change!” he was starting to get upset and Yoongi was grinning. He never knew how much fun it was to terrorize someone. He was enjoying this. “Listen to me, you are becoming me and I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do that.”

_ Better put me in the nuthouse then, because I’m hearing voices _ ... he sang the last part and then Yoongi found himself giggling like a group of middle school girls. Agust was getting more and more frustrated by the second. If this is what he was like to deal with, well, then he was going to have to make some changes.

“Come on Yoongi. I’m begging you.”

_ Wonder what I could say to get them to accept me. It wouldn’t be hard, I’m sure. I have a split personality and I want to kill people all the time. Sometimes my eyes turn to gold but don’t worry about that because it’s not really me, it’s just Agust D. A to the U to the G to the S-T-D… Who’s Agust D? He says that Min Yoongi is dead. But recently he doesn’t say that anymore. He wants me alive. But I want to be dead. But it’s okay because I can’t die. I just kill everyone to satisfy that feeling. I can also bring stuff back to life. It’s quite extraordinary. _

Agust was racking his brain, trying to figure out what he could say to stop Yoongi from going crazy, to try and convince him to let things go back to normal, but he couldn’t find the words. In fact, most of the thoughts swirling around his brain weren’t even his. They were Yoongi’s.

_ Chaos and Order are opposites are they not? I used to be all about order. Now, oh boy, I just want chaos. _

“Yoongi, please.”

_ Imagine a world in chaos. Everyone, screaming. For mercy. _

“Yoongi.”

_ The human race can’t evolve without change. _

“Not even I was this crazy.”

_ Everyone is a puppet, tangled within a master plan. But who created that master plan? Certainly not a god. If there was a god, would he let all of this take place? No. But I could be the god. A powerful one at that. _

“You have to stop. You can’t do this.” Agust D was gripping the desk tightly, his knuckles turning white and his gold eyes wide with fear. Yoongi was trying to take control, finally, but it wasn’t what he wanted. Psycho Yoongi did not need to be in charge.

_ I could show you something beautiful. _

“No.”

_ With you out of the picture, I’m free. There are no strings on me. _

“Stop.”

_ Jungkook is going to let me out when he sees my eyes and hair, you know. He won’t suspect anything. Not anything at all. I can get out, and kill him on the spot. Then I’ll kill everyone in the building. _

He gasped as Yoongi kicked him hard. A hand went around his throat, but it wasn’t him that was controlling the body. Not anymore.

Agust continued to put up a fight, but in the end, it did nothing.

Yoongi began laughing psychotically, a large maleficent grin spreading across his face. Every trace of gold and blonde was starting to fade away from his body, leaving nothing but black holes and black locks. He adjusted his shirt and sat down in the desk chair, kicking his feet onto the desk.

“For years you’ve tried to convince me to come to the dark side, and look! You won!”

_ You can’t do this. You can’t destroy these people’s lives. You can’t play God! _

“I can do whatever I want because I’m in charge!” He continued to laugh loudly, his pupils dilated as he tossed his hands into the air triumphantly. He spun around in the chair a few times, his laughter still going strong.

_ Think about what you’re doing! _

“Oh, I have. And now I’m going to destroy it.” Yoongi’s face was dark, and anyone who would have seen him would have turned right around and run away. His voice got deep and crackly as he began to mumble to himself in a singsongy, off-tune tone.

“Who’s the king? Who’s the boss _? _ ” 

_ Yoongi, please, there’s still time for us to fix this! A common goal, remember? _

“It’s really not nice to INTERRUPT people,” his voice shifted octaves and tones while his breath was still filled with cackles. Maybe he was too far gone.

Yoongi went back to singing.

“Who’s the king? Who’s the boss?” 

_ Yoongi! _

“I’M the KING! I’M the BOSS!” 

_ You HAVE TO STOP! _

He was grinning, whistling, laughing, spinning, and mumbling, just like an insane asylum patient. And Agust, he knew it was no use.

Yoongi had become him.

\---

Jungkook hadn’t left his room all day. He was preparing.

He had to make sure he had everything he needed because he wasn’t coming back anytime soon. And leaving something behind that was important would be awkward and just plain awful.

And he did play guitar for a long ass time, his fingertips did bleed, and he spent fifteen minutes grimace in the bathroom mirror as he ran his hands under the water. He was going to miss that a lot. The pick box went in his bag after that.

He’d dye his hair a different color when he got out, start a whole new identity. Once he left, Jeon Jungkook was dead and had been dead for months, killed by thugs the night all this shit happened.

Jungkook would miss some people here, that was no lie. He’d miss Jimin and his optimistic attitude, Taehyung with his scowls, Hoseok with his shits and giggles. He’d miss Jin and Yoongi and everyone else. But Jungkook never should have become friends with the popular table. Things were different and Jungkook had always been the odd one out.

A little past midnight, Jungkook woke up to a loud beeping noise in his room. He rolled over with a groan and shoved his pillow over his head. He had been trying to get at least a little bit of sleep before he had to leave, but apparently the world hated him.

“Jungkook?”

Holy shit, that’s Yoongi! Jungkook sat up right away and almost fell off the bed. He slipped into clothes and slung his bag over his shoulder. He could leave early; it might be better actually. He just needed to make sure no one saw him.

“Yoongi? Is that you?”

“Yeah! Agust's gone now. It’s all me now.” he ended his sentence with a high-pitched laugh and Jungkook raised an eyebrow but didn’t question it. Yoongi had been far gone for a long time, so it must have been weird for him trying to adapt and get used to all the changes of having control over his body once more.

“Can I come to see you?”

Yoongi giggled again. “I would love nothing more, Jungkookie!” the intercom clicked off, leaving Jungkook in silence. He took a deep breath. That was weird. Yoongi was acting weird. Unless he was going crazy.

Am I going crazy?

Nah, Jungkook was sane. He was going back to live with humans and then he would be pretty damn sane, even more sane than before. He would be perfectly fine.

Yoongi was leaning against the door with a smirk when Jungkook reached the bottom of the stairs. It was a little hard to see Yoongi’s face, considering all the lights were turned off in his room, but Jungkook couldn’t see any gold or blonde and he deemed that a good thing.

“I missed you,” he said, fingernails tapping on the doorframe. His hands were still bare, not even a single trace of black glove anywhere on them. Funny, that’s the first thing Jungkook would have guessed Yoongi would fix.

“I missed you too,” Jungkook responded, ending it with a sigh. “I just want to thank you for saving me. You know, bringing me back from the dead. I know that must have been really hard, so thanks. And I know the situation isn’t pleasant, but I hope we can still stay friends.”

“Well of course we can stay friends! Now open the door, I’ve been locked here way too long and I want some non-Agust D touched air.” Jungkook nodded and went to open the lock after he shrugged his duffel to the floor. Yoongi grinned when he could push the door open to come into the hallway.

_ STOP! _

Jungkook winced and raised a hand to his head. That hadn’t been his voice. Who was in his head?

Was Jungkook really going crazy?

“Oh thank you Jungkook, this is so nice. Truly.” his smile was starting to freak Jungkook out. He felt uneasy. Something really wasn’t right.

Jungkook went into Yoongi’s room despite Yoongi’s protests to go upstairs and did a quick scan. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. The record player was extremely crackly today like the vinyl hadn’t been placed on correctly. There were fresh tally marks on the wall, a little bit of writing, and...

“I KILLED HIM” smeared on the wall in blood. Jungkook’s eyes widened as he began to back away slowly. Yoongi’s cackle caused him to whip back around.

Sure enough, there was a heavy cut in Yoongi’s left arm, blood still weaving a river down his arm.

_ GET OUT!  _

That same voice was back in his head and Jungkook decided it’d be best to heed their warning, whoever it was. Yoongi was not Yoongi.

Maybe it was Agust? It made sense. Yoongi and Jungkook did have some weird telepathic communication and Agust would be included in that. Maybe.

“Where are you going, Jungkookie? I thought you missed me!” He threw back his head in another round of psychotic cackling, and Jungkook was in a sudden panic to get out.

“You’re not yourself Yoongi, you got to find yourself somewhere back in there.”

“But this is the true me Jungkook! Ten years of trying to push away Agust D, struggling to get him to leave me alone, and now, I can do whatever I want, because I am finally free. Do you think someone who hears voices in their head 24/7 is going to be sane? Of course not! I’m as insane as they get! My whole life sucked! Everything sucked! But you know what the best part of all of this shit was?”

Jungkook didn’t want to know.

“Pretending I was in love with you. Please. As if I would be in love with a human. You’re pathetic. Replaceable. Not important. Stupid. Worthless. Trash. I never loved you, and I never will!” Yoongi sneered, and then went back to laughing. He ran a hand through his hair, smearing blood all over him along the way. Jungkook felt a lump start to lodge in his throat. Yoongi couldn’t be serious. This couldn’t be Yoongi. Of course not. Yoongi was kind, gentle, lovely, perfect...

Not a maniac.

“I know what you’re thinking Jungkookie. ‘This can’t possibly be Yoongi! No! But it is. I am Yoongi. I am going to destroy and kill everything and everyone on this planet, and I’m going to laugh as I do it. Nothing is more fun than carving a smile on someone’s face. And all those people Agust’s killed? That was just the beginning. I loved watching him murder. Watching those people bleed. Feeling blood on my hands and face and in my hair. Bathing in the stuff. And I’m going to love killing you the most.” He lunged for Jungkook with a knife Jungkook didn’t realize he had and managed to nick his arm before Jungkook got away. Yoongi was still cackling, laughing so loudly, so evilly, that it was embedding itself in every inch of Jungkook’s head, amplifying the horrible sound. Yoongi made another jab for him, this time with a hand, trying to touch his skin so he would die instantly. Jungkook should have listened. He never should have opened the door. He never should have believed Yoongi was sane, that Yoongi was okay after being locked inside his own body for over a month.

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be!” he yelled, making another move with his knife. Jungkook took off running towards the door. Yoongi followed suit, but Jungkook managed to slam the door in his face and lock it with trembling fingers. His arm was bleeding pretty badly, but it must have been all the adrenaline coursing through him that helped eliminate the pain. He’d fix that later.

Yoongi was banging on the door, leaving bloody handprints on the window and smearing blood all over his face. He dragged a finger across his throat, leaving a ruby red line, and then the same on his face to present a permanent smile.

“You’re dead Jungkook! Dead! I’m going to kill you!” he was still cackling, but Jungkook knew he was serious. “I’m going to kill everyone here!”

Jungkook was struggling to catch his breath, one hand laid against the wall. Yoongi was gone. He was gone, and it was all Jungkook’s fault. Yoongi’s life was ruined because of Jungkook.

“I’m so sorry,” Jungkook’s voice was barely a whisper, and he could feel tears starting to make their way down his face. He couldn’t even look at Yoongi.

Only slung his bag over his shoulder and headed up the stairs, Yoongi still giggling like a maniac behind him.

\---

He had been running for a while now.

Jungkook didn’t bother to clean up his wound. He was too focused on getting out. Especially after Yoongi. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but Yoongi was far gone and it was all his fault.

Yoongi was right. Jungkook should be dead.

He had thought about suicide a handful of times in his life. Nobody really seemed to want him around, not even himself. But for some reason, he did stick around, and now that left him here.

Running away from a building of people with superpowers.

It was very dark outside, and Jungkook had tripped plenty of times already, but he kept going. Once the others noticed he was gone, if they even did, he wanted to be far gone. He had been looking for the door that led to the garage for a while now and hadn’t had much luck. Maybe he had gone past it?

Had he really been running for a mile?

That didn’t seem right. He just needed to be on high alert and keep a lookout. He couldn’t stop.

Jungkook kept moving.

Once he found the garage, he could hotwire a car and get out quickly. Then he’d think of a better, well thought out plan after that. That was good. See, Jungkook could prioritize his time right, even in times of panic.

But instead of thinking, he really should have been paying attention to the giant tree root sticking out of the ground, because he went flying, ending his fall with a terrible crash that sent pain in waves throughout his body. His bag had ended somewhere behind him, and his hat somewhere in front of him. He never had been athletic.

Jungkook was an idiot.

He laid there for a few seconds, groaning and complaining before a stick cracked, and he was brought back to his senses. He sat up to see a tall guy offering him the hat he’d been wearing, an unsettling smile plastered across his face. Jungkook forgot how to breathe.

The man tossed the hat into the bushes. “Little funny we found you out here! We were heading back to your place to bring you to the boss, but this makes things so much easier. Now, what was your name? Started with a J, didn’t it?”

“It’s Jungkook, you fucking idiot,” Another guy stepped out of the woods, one that was shorter and a lot less loud. He punched the tall guy in the shoulder. “Keep it down for God’s sake, everyone within a ten-kilometer radius can hear you shouting.”

Jungkook looked up at them in fear. How did they know who he was? How did they-

“We were sent by Jay, I assume you know him? Boss said you agreed to take part in his little project, and we were sent to fetch you.” the shorter guy grinned before adding, “I can read minds by the way, so nothing is gonna be a secret from me.”

“We are taking you back to our clan, so don’t try and run away or nothing, because you won’t get very far. Stand up.”

Jungkook continued staring, his voice caught in his throat. He was doomed. He had tried to leave one prison only to be brought into another.

“It’s not really a prison, but a laboratory. We are men of science,” Short guy assured, but it didn’t make Jungkook feel any better. He reached over and pulled Jungkook up from the ground in one swift pull while the taller guy pulled a set of handcuffs from his pocket and clicked them tightly around Jungkook’s wrists. He winced.

“Jay’s going to treat you just nicely, just like your arrangement. We just have to make sure you don’t know where we are going is all.” The shorter guy explained as he gestured towards the tall guy. Suddenly Jungkook couldn’t see, and he felt more panic bubble in his chest.

“Temporary blindness,” the tall guy said. Jungkook pictured him to be beaming. “Only works in short bursts but we aren’t too far away.”

“Start walking.” Jungkook got shoved and he stumbled forward, almost losing his balance. He felt someone grab his shoulder tightly.

This was bad.

This was very, very bad.

  
  



	15. 015

They walked for a while.

Or, at least, it felt like a while. That might have been because Jungkook was scared out of his mind and the two men conversed the entire way there, talking about the failed humans or talents they had to kill, which only upped his anxiety. Sometimes they tried to talk to Jungkook, but Jungkook could never answer because he was shaking with fear, and the minute he opened his mouth he knew he was going to lose it.

“God, are you a fucking mute or what? Haven’t said a damn word since we started moving,” Tall guy exclaimed loudly. The shorter guy huffed loudly, and it sounded like he might have punched his partner.

“Of all people, I have to be paired with the most idiotic person in the group.” with all the huffing he was doing, Jungkook figured he was probably rolling his eyes. It was annoying not to be able to see anything. He was thankful he wasn’t blind all the time.

“Oh shut up, I’m not even that stupid. You’re the dumb one.”

“I’m the dumb one? As if. That’s why I was sent out here to go find the human. You just had to tag along in case of trouble.”

“Whatever. Shut up.”

The shorter guy huffed again. “We’re almost there Jeon. Just a few more feet and you’ll be inside.”

That wasn’t satisfying to Jungkook at all.

Sure enough, soon Jungkook was being shoved harshly against a cool brick wall and the click of a lock echoed in his ear. After a few seconds of rapid beeping, Jungkook was shoved inside the building to welcome the cool flow of air on his face. The door closed loudly behind him, booming throughout the hallways. They continued walking. He could hear people screaming, groaning, yelling, and it sent chills through his body. That was the horrific sound of torture, he realized, something that was soon to be upon him. Not only that, but it could be Hoseok, or Jimin, or Yeojin or Taehyun or Soobin and he would never know.

Jungkook wished he could see. They kept shoving him harshly, which would cause him to stumble and trip over his own feet. They were making him look like an idiot. Which he was, but they didn’t need to know that. He shouldn’t have left, he should have waited or at least thought things through. Why hadn’t he made a plan beforehand? Stupid, just plain stupid.

Jungkook swore that if he got out of here alive, he would never procrastinate ever again.

A hand pressed into his back and pushed him up against another wall as more beeping came from what was most likely a keypad. The door clicked and made a whoosh as it was pulled open, Jungkook being pushed inside. The door shut and Jungkook could finally see again. He blinked a couple of times, trying to get the cloudy black spots out of his vision, and looked around the room.

It looked like something out of  _ Frankenstein _ . What looked like a hundred different chemicals and tools lined shelves on both sides. Low lighting cast eerie shadows that bounced off the walls and a metal table in the middle of the room, complete with shackles and other restraints. Jungkook gulped.

This was bad. This was so very bad.

“It’s not that bad,” the shorter guy laid a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder. Oh right, he could read Jungkook’s mind. Fantastic. “That’s just so you don’t thrash around and hurt yourself if you get spooked or something. It’s okay.”

“Mr. Jay is gonna be here anytime now, so we gotta get you onto this table and shit. Don’t fight us, we don’t wanna hurt you.” The tall guy pulled his shirt up to reveal a taser in his belt and grinned snarkily. The shorter guy rolled his eyes. He undid Jungkook’s handcuffs and maneuvered him over to the table. Jungkook rubbed his wrists as he stared at the deathtrap in front of him. He was going to be strapped to that and turned into some sort of monster and he wasn’t looking forward to it at all. Why did he agree to help Jay? Why did he do that? It was so stupid. Jin had been right.

Jungkook wished he could apologize.

“Get up there,” the shorter guy demanded without looking up from his fingernails. He pulled out a pocket knife and began using it to clean the dirt out from underneath. Jungkook was frozen. He couldn’t move, didn’t want to move, because he knew what was coming and he was terrified beyond all belief.

“I would listen to him if I were you,” Tall guy suggested. Jungkook nodded and finally willed himself to climb up. The shorter guy put his knife away and shackled Jungkook’s wrists and ankles while Tall guy put the leather restraints over his midsection. Jungkook swallowed his need to cry. God, he was terrified.

The shorter guy dusted off his hands once he finished. “Boss is gonna be here soon, just like we said. As for now, just enjoy your stay.” He flashed a wicked smile, and then the two of them left, leaving Jungkook more scared than he had ever been in his entire life.

Jungkook was going to die. He was going to die and he couldn’t do anything about it. Jay was going to turn him into a monster and then no one would ever want to talk to him ever again. If he went back to visit Jin or anyone there they would only laugh at him, call him a freak, tell him he was unnatural and a waste of space. Yoongi would probably still try to kill him. It didn’t matter. Maybe he wouldn’t even struggle. There wouldn’t be a point.

Jungkook felt like he was in that room for hours. A couple of times he nodded off, only to be awakened to the crushing cruel, harsh reality that he was going to be experimented on. His arms were starting to become numb from being held above his head.

He could hear screaming coming from outside the room. He wondered how far away the others were. If he somehow magically managed to get out, Jungkook would go find and rescue them. He’d bring them back home, and then he’d be a hero. But no way would he stick around. He’d leave right after that. Those people didn’t need him.

But maybe he needed them.

Jungkook shook his head. That was ridiculous. He had managed just fine without them, and he would manage this right here just fine without them. Maybe there was still hope.

But Jungkook wasn’t sure. For the first time, his optimistic demeanor was cracking.

The door creaked open and brought Jungkook away from his thoughts. He tried to pick his head up to look, and while it was very uncomfortable, he managed to watch Jay come in. He was wearing a white lab coat and black gloves, grinning ear to ear. Jungkook also noticed he had blood on the bottom part of his coat. Not good.

“Ah, Jungkook! It’s so great to see you again. Sorry for making you wait, I had other business to attend to.” He winked. “Now you probably have a lot of questions, and I assure you I will answer all of them. After I’m done, if you still have any more remaining, feel free to ask!” He clasped his hands together and walked to the back of the room where he opened up a cabinet. Jungkook couldn’t see what he was doing, but he heard a lot of clanging and it made him even more nervous, if possible.

Jay came over to Jungkook and began constructing what looked to be an IV. It was hooked up to a monitor.

“I’m putting an IV in you to regulate your body temperature and keep you feeling okay. This will also measure your heartbeat in case something goes wrong and we need to fix it.” Jay slipped a needle into the top of one of Jungkook’s hands, causing him to hiss in pain. Jungkook never had liked needles.

Jay paused to look at the cut Yoongi had made on Jungkook’s arm. Jungkook had forgotten that was even there; he was so hyped on adrenaline.

“What happened here?”

“Nothing,” Jungkook mumbled. Jay clucked his tongue.

“Okay, moving on. First things first. I’m the leader of this clan, quite similar to your little fuck buddy over at your place.” He raised an eyebrow and smirked. “I’m sorry about lying to you, but I had to get in to see what talents we could use for our progress, and boy, did you guys sure have some good ones!”

“You’re hurting them,” Jungkook argued, his voice coming out raw. He mentally cursed. “You can’t do that to your kind.”

“It’s for science, and their sacrifices won’t be in vain. We have tested so many humans, have had so many results, and some of them have churned out very wonderful results. However, only parts have been successful. It's very difficult for my subjects to get through multiple rounds before they kick the bucket." He sighed. "But you Jungkookie, you will be fully successful. I’ve had my people get a reading on you, I’ve studied the way you act and move, and Jungkook, you are the perfect candidate for this project. Not only are you mentally ready, but you're fit and strong. You will be the first genetically modified talent, perfect and unstoppable in every way possible. You’ll be a weapon, a god.” 

“I don’t want to be a weapon, and I certainly don’t want the responsibility of a god. Please, you can’t do this to me.”

“But you already agreed to do it! And you sounded so happy about it too!” Jay paused, his smile slowly turning into a frown. He raised a hand to his chin. “I was informed we killed you during the break-in... I am so sorry about that. Good thing your precious leader was there to do us a favor. I appreciate his help.”

“You’re an asshole.” Jungkook wasn’t sure where he was getting all this confidence from.

“I’m not, I’m just smart. Now look, I said we could do things your way, but since you seem like you no longer want to cooperate anymore, I’m just going to take one for the team and do everything myself. Sound like a plan?”

“You can’t do this to me!” Jungkook growled, which quickly turned into him shouting. He yanked on his restraints, pulled as hard as he could to try and get loose, but it was no use. Jungkook was stuck.

“I can do whatever I want with you. I own you now, and I’m going to make you into the perfect soldier. You’ll protect our base, You’ll do exactly what I say, and then we can make more just like you. Soon the entire human race will be just like us, and we will live on a much better planet. Now, where should we start?” Jay's grin only grew as he grabbed a notebook and pen and flipped open to a clean page. He leaned against the countertop.

Jungkook continued struggling, even though he knew it was no use. He wasn't going down without a fight.

“Of course we will start with the obvious, enhanced hearing and eyesight. Those are the basics, we have mastered those formulas. Next, I’m thinking strength and speed, to take those pesky enemies out. We probably need to eliminate emotions... don’t want those getting in the way of our responsibilities. Emotions always have been petty in my case. They aren’t needed. We will need to make sure you look the part... probably something a little more imitating, like eye color. But depending on what side effects we get from our formula, I guess we will see how that turns out. Do you have any suggestions?”

“You aren’t gonna get away with this,” Jungkook spat out, still trying to pull free, “The others are going to stop you.”

“Such an optimistic Jungkook, we are going to have to get rid of that. Anyways, I guess I’ll go through DNA’s later and we can figure out which one suits you most.” Jay tore off the page and pinned it on the wall. He scribbled the date and time on it.

05:38, 14 October.

No way. Had it been that long since Jungkook had seen a calendar? He couldn’t believe it. That meant he was now 24, that he had missed his birthday and pretty much misplaced eight months of his life. That was crazy. No, even worse than that. Insane.

“Alright, so I’m going to do your eyesight and hearing first and come back in a few hours for strength. I’ll put something in your IV to help you sleep.” Jay picked up a clipboard from the counter. He scribbled a couple of things and marked others. Then he was pulling a clear liquid from one of the cabinets and mixing it with a red one sitting at the back of the counter. He put both into a syringe. As he moved closer, Jungkook tried his hardest to distance himself.

Jay placed the needle into Jungkook’s neck, using one hand to grip his hair tightly. The minute the liquid entered Jungkook’s bloodstream, it felt like his entire body had been doused in gasoline and set ablaze. He tried his hardest not to yell out in pain.

Jay went back over to the counter to once again mix a bunch of toxic liquids. Then he placed that syringe in the same place as before. This time, Jungkook couldn’t help but let out an angry pain-filled scream. Jay rolled his eyes.

“Calm down, I’m putting something in your IV drip right now, you big baby.” Jungkook had had his eyes squeezed shut and his fists clenched so tightly he was sure he might explode. He didn’t like pain, never had dealt very well with pain, and this pain was probably the worst he had ever felt. Jay sighed impatiently and tapped on Jungkook’s shoulder.

When Jungkook opened his eyes, the room was blurry. He couldn’t see anything clearly like his vision was slowly deteriorating.

“See you later, Jungkookie.” Jay waved, that evil grin still on his face. He disappeared through the door as Jungkook’s eyelids drooped shut.

\---

“Jungkook, can you hear me?” Jay’s voice sounded in his skull, but Jungkook didn’t want to open his eyes. His whole body was drunk with sedatives and sleep. He groaned with a response.

“Holy shit, that acted fast. I knew you were perfect for this experiment.” Jay began laughing happily, and Jungkook’s eyes shot open.

He was the only person in the room.

“Jungkook, I am currently standing clear on the other side of the building, and you can hear what I’m saying. This is incredible. No one has been able to reach this length yet.”

Jungkook squeezed his eyes shut again with another groan. And suddenly, he could hear everything.

People screaming everywhere, groaning, mumbling, crying, speaking. He could hear heartbeats, insects, the goddamn wind, everything.

It was overwhelming.

Jungkook wanted to be the exact opposite of overwhelming. This was too much. He didn’t want to be able to hear everything, didn’t want it to be pounding against his skull.

Guess this meant he was technically not human anymore.

Which was terrifying.

"I don't like it," he grumbled, trying to roll over, but he forgot he couldn't do that because he was chained to the table.

"This is normal for regular talents, which is why it's really impressive for you to be able to hear me. I'm coming back now."

"Make it stop!"

"You have to think about it. Focus on the one room."

Jungkook squeezed his eyes and furrowed his brow tightly as if that would help him focus. Just one room, he kept telling himself, just the sounds in one room. And maybe he would have got it if Jay hadn't walked in and messed everything up.

Jungkook wanted to scream.

"I know it's a little chaotic at first, but you'll get used to it, I promise. Now open your eyes, I want to see how they turned out." Jungkook didn't open his eyes. He was too busy dealing with all the sounds making a home in his skull to focus on opening his eyes. Jay's voice was so loud in his head, and even though it had been at an inside volume, it sounded like he was screaming once it passed through his eardrums. Every noise going on in the room seemed to be amplified by a thousand times and it was just too much. How was he expected to get used to this? Is this what every talent heard every waking day of their life since birth? And it might have been a little worse for Jungkook, considering there was so much screaming going on, but his question still stood ground. This was awful. He didn't know how they could do it.

"Jungkook, I'm not going to ask again. You need to do what I say so things run smoothly. Now open your eyes."

He took a deep breath and did as Jay asked.

And Woah.

It was almost like he was watching an HD movie. Everything was so sharp and clear, clear enough that he could even see the small lettering on a prescription bottle on the other side of the room. The light seemed to be glittering, the dust on the shelves was dark and dreary. Jungkook's eyesight never had been terrible, but this is what he imagined people who got glasses for the first time felt. It was incredible.

Jay let out a small gasp and his eyes widened. Jungkook raised an eyebrow. Jay in HD was nothing pretty.

He wondered what Yoongi in HD looked like.

"Well, uh, that's new."

"What?" Jungkook was concerned about why Jay seemed worried. What had happened?

"Your, uhm, well, the formula reacts differently with each person, and uh, well, your eyes are purple."

"What?" How could his eyes go from brown to purple? What did purple eyes even look like? "You gotta show me."

Jay shook his head. "We are going to fix that. We can at least make them a dark purple, like an almost black? I think that would work. And God, we have to do something about your hair. It looks awful."

Jungkook only glared.

"Anyways, now that phase one is complete, we can go into phase two. You feeling strength or speed next?"

"How about neither?"

Jay let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe I'll cut out your tongue. You don't need to speak to be a soldier."

Jungkook didn't say anything. He only looked up at the ceiling.

He could hear Jay moving things around, glass clinking and liquids sloshing and it made him even more nervous. The experiments weren't going to stop, he knew that.

Then his attention got directed somewhere else.

"...Namjoon, I miss him a lot." He caught the tail-end of a conversation, but it sounded like Hoseok. And if he could hear Hoseok, that meant he had to be somewhat close.

“You have to take me to Hoseok,” Jungkook demanded. “If you are planning on using me as your lab rat, please at least do this one thing for me. I mean, you guys were kind of friends, and you betrayed him, so you at least owe this to him.”

“Hoseok is a strong little dude, I can give you that. We’ve used his DNA for several experiments. And his powers, God, they are extraordinary.”

“I didn’t ask for a history lesson, I asked you to take me to him.” Jay’s face flushed with anger when he whipped back over to confront Jungkook’s attitude. He jammed a needle in Jungkook’s arm and shoved two tiny white tablets down his throat. Jungkook couldn’t breathe, he was practically choking on these pills as Jay forced them down his throat. He offered him water after Jungkook finally managed to breathe again, but Jungkook only glared with watery eyes.

“You hurt my friends,” he sneered, trying to pull on his restraints once more, “You cut out my friend’s tongue, you chopped off his hand, you leave them bruised and bloody and hurt, and for what cause? Science? This is stupid! You can’t change one species into another!”

“We’ve been doing this for years Jungkook, years. We are fully capable of this. We’ve had good results and bad results, and we can learn and adapt. If the human race can create new species, we can do this. It’s Jurassic Park minus everyone getting killed by dinosaurs.”

“Everyone is just getting killed by you instead.”

Jay grinned. He leaned over his brush his fingers across Jungkook’s cheek. “You’re getting the best treatment in the house Jungkookie, don’t let it go to waste. Everything we’ve done here has led up to you. You’re the final result, and if we are successful, then none of this would have gone to waste. And I know we will be successful.”

“I hope you rot in hell!”

Jay leaned farther in so he could whisper in Jungkook’s ear. “I think you are forgetting I can put you there.” He smiled again and stood up straight. “Anyways, I’ll have Yerim come to check on you in a little while. She’ll bring food. Maybe we can visit Ms. Kim tomorrow.” He winked. “You’ll be in a lot of pain with this next phase, but I think maybe this will be a lesson for you to learn. I’m your boss now Jungkook, I own you. You have to obey me. Anyways, I will see you later.”

At the mention of pain, Jungkook felt his muscles starting to tense up. They felt like they were stretching under his skin, and it did not feel good.

It was going to be a long day.

\---

There were a million voices feeding thoughts into Yoongi’s head. It was one big massive swirl of reds and oranges and greens and yellows, do this, don’t do this, do this instead. Agust didn’t talk to him anymore. This was strictly him.

There was a part of him that was still him, sitting quietly in the shadows. He was lost among his head, the bigger, louder voices overpowering his quiet one. He was hiding from them because they were muttering and yelling and laughing and it was too much. They’d approach him with knives and bullets and insults and it was overwhelming. So he resorted to hiding in the shadows. Yoongi knew he probably should attempt to do something, but it was difficult. How was he supposed to have self-control over different parts of himself?

At the moment, Yoongi was pacing around the room cackling like a mad man one minute and crying heavily the next. He would sit down and then stand up, bang on the door, or throw something across the room. Maybe he truly did belong in an insane asylum.

He didn't blame his family for locking him up now.

"We gotta escape," one sputtered out, eyes twinkling with mischief. He rubbed his hands together.

"Nobody's going to let us out of here you idiot, look what happened with Jungkook!"

"Have someone come to tear the door off its hinges. Like Yeonjun! Jun Jun Jjuni Jun."

"We had a brother named Junki, remember him? Geumjae? Oh, he was so scared of us killing all the time."

"Yoongi this, Yoongi that. Yoongi stop, you're scaring me."

"Yoongi did nothing wrong but live his life appropriately."

"You fools! You are all missing the main point!" Yoongi was laughing. All these voices were using his body and anyone who would have seen Yoongi at the moment would have certified him as a nutjob, hands down.

"We have to get out of this roooooom!!!" His voice continued to slip up octaves and then back down repeatedly, giving the actual stuck Yoongi a headache within his head.

"How do you suggest we do that?"

"We find a way. I need to kill someone. It's running through my veins. I need to soak in their blood."

"You're already covered in your blood."

"The more the merrier, hmmm? I think that's best!"

"Where do you think Jungkook went? Let's bring him back here!"

"No, you aren't doing that." Yoongi was surprised to hear his normal voice coming out of his mouth. His body seemed to be going through a shock as the other voices turned to glare at him. They moved closer to the shadows as he pulled himself out of the dark.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did the rat finally speak?"

"You aren't hurting Jungkook, and you aren't hurting any of my friends. You already managed to put Agust in hiding and I would like him back now if you don't mind."

They all sneered simultaneously. "You don't have control of yourself at the moment, do you? How are you going to make us obey you?"

Yoongi clenched and unclenched a fist. He wasn't sure actually, but he would make sure they wouldn't do anything crazy. Two days was enough of that.

"Don't fight off the real you, Yoongi, you don't need to try and pretend you are something you're not. We all know the truth."

"I haven't seen the real me in years. The real me is still that scared sixteen-year-old being locked in his room. He was good, I'm not. I've done a lot of shit, sure, but everyone has done that. All I know is that I was working to be normal, and a lot of shit happened in between, but I'm still going to keep trying. And I'm always going to keep trying. I'm not going to let fear rule over me anymore."

One of them scoffed, lips tilting up into a smirk. "You can try, but we are all you. You can't hide from yourself."

“I think you’re forgetting I have a valuable asset on my side. Someone I didn’t think I would need until now. But I need control, and he needs control, so common goal.” He clasped his hands with a grin, twisting and lathering them together. The others stared at him in confusion.

“Your little 'pal' isn’t exactly here anymore, is he? I thought you wanted him gone. I thought that was the point of setting Yoongi free.”

“I thought pushing Agust D away would be the ultimate goal, but he was right. I can’t survive without him. Without him, I’m swimming in my head with voices muttering all the time, and that isn’t something I want. He’s a part of me, and I’m finally ready to accept that. I should have done that a long ass time ago. So this is my formal apology I guess. Let’s start with that common goal and get rid of crazy Yoongi.”

He paused, his eyes flickering around and waiting for Agust to show up, to save the day, but there was nothing but silence. Smirks rose to the faces of the others once more.

“Guess your knight in shining armor isn’t coming. You’re pathetic Yoongi. Worthless. You should kill yourself.”

“I don’t understand. Why didn’t...” his voice trailed off, a frown appearing on his face as his heart sank to the bottom of his chest. If Agust wasn’t coming, then he was stuck. He was forever going to be stuck inside his head.

“You see Yoongi, we are you. We have always been you, and we have always been around. You set us free. You’re crazy. You want to kill. But you aren’t going to kill anyone sitting around in this little place of yours. So the best next answer is killing yourself.”

“You don’t think I’ve tried to do that?” he shot back, anger starting to ombre his grief and disappointment. “I’ve tried hundreds of times. I had my life ruined, and I didn’t want to fight anymore. I can’t die.”

“Tried doesn’t mean you’ve been successful. Come on, just test this, one last time. Whaddya say?” Yoongi was staring into the eyes of himself, two empty black holes that brought back nothing but horrible memories. Drugs, death, empty faces, one night stands, “you’ll never be good enough Yoongi,” but for some reason, he saw one thing in his own eyes that he didn’t see in anyone else. And that was hope.

Because Yoongi had his life changed by a big, stupid, godforsaken, brown-haired doe-eyed human that walked in and showed him what it was like to love after ten years of battling yellow-eyed demons, staying low, having no control, listening to temptations, and sobbing night after night. Things had been bad from the start and Jungkook, Jungkook had always made things seem a little better. He was like a best friend to Yoongi, and Yoongi loved him. And so what they couldn’t touch anymore? They could make it work. They could still love each other. Yoongi would regain control, he would apologize and explain and things would go back to normal.

He stood up as straight as possible and folded his arms tightly across his chest. “No, because I’m not miserable anymore. I’ve accepted who I am as a person, and I have people that love me. Good people. I don’t need to deal with myself being an asshole all the time. So if you’d kindly fuck off, I’d like control of my goddamn body back.”

They stared at him, mouths gaping, and suddenly all four of them disappeared, leaving a familiar golden-eyed and blonde-haired Yoongi standing out from the shadows. He bowed and stood up with a smirk.

“I’m at your command.”

\---

“Have you seen Jungkook?” Jin asked Sooyoung as he popped his head through the gym door. Jiwoo and Chaewon were in there, but Jungkook was nowhere to be found.

Sooyoung shook her head. “He hasn’t been to the last couple of practices. I’m assuming it's because you told him he wasn’t going to be fighting with us.” She crossed her arms and glared at Jin. Chaewon and Jiwoo both eyed him curiously, faces masked in a look of “how could you do that?”

Jin’s face turned bright red, but he knew he had to stand his ground. He let out a small whistle between his teeth. “Come on you guys, you can’t expect him to fight with us, can you? He’s human. He’s going to get hurt in the first ten seconds.”

“I knew there was a reason you weren’t having me keep an update log for him. Come on Jin, that’s a little low, especially for you.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m only trying to protect him. The kid’s been through a lot. He was legally dead for almost twenty minutes.”

“He’s really good though. He’s strong, got a lot of muscle and his punches are really quick. I think he could do some damage. And they are his friends too. Jimin is practically his family. You can’t take that away from him.”

“He could certainly do some damage,” Chaewon added quietly as she dug the toe of her shoe into the floor. Jiwoo nodded his head in agreement.

Jin sighed loudly as he ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll think about it. Besides that, keep training. In two weeks we are heading out to take back what is rightfully ours. We need to be ready. So whoever you believe needs more work, call them in. Also, do you have any idea where Jungkook might be?”

“Did you check the dining room?” Sooyoung asked, raising an eyebrow. Chaewon let out a small giggle and raised a hand to her mouth. She briefly flickered to a copy of Jin before turning back into herself, causing both of them to burst into another round of laughter. Jin grumbled under his breath.

“Of course I did. That was the first place I checked.”

“Maybe he’s downstairs with Yoongi?” Jiwoo suggested, raising a hand to point out the door. She was bouncing around on the balls of her feet without realizing it. With another small giggle, Chaewon reached out to steady her.

“Guess it’s sunny outside today, huh Jiwooming?

“Oh shut up.”

Jin groaned again. “Whatever. It’s not important. I’ll look for him later. As for you, keep working hard, okay? We need to make sure they never lay a hand on anyone, human or talent, ever again.”

“Yep, got it Jin,” Sooyoung said with annoyance. She waved a hand towards the door. “We gotta train now, so...”

“Yeah, of course.” He closed the door and rolled his eyes, sticking out his tongue in some sort of attempt at mockery. Jungkook wasn’t the main focus, he just wanted to check up on him. Not that he would be happy to see Jin anyway. The two weren’t exactly on the best of terms right now. He’d give Jungkook more time, probably check on him tomorrow.

Chae approached Jin as he was walking back to his room to review their battle strategies. She was looking a lot healthier now, despite it being only a couple of days since her return. Some of the bruises Jin had left untouched were starting to yellow.

“Hey Jin, Jennie was wondering if you wanted me to take her down the trail back to Horror Island.”

“Horror Island?” Jin repeated in confusion. He had a pretty good idea of what she was referring to, but with Chae, you never knew.

“Yeah. That’s what I’m calling that hell prison. Anyways, it would be good to have another speedster knowing the way just in case something goes wrong and we get separated.”

“Uh, yeah! That’s a good idea. Can you guys do that tomorrow morning? I’m just thinking we wait. Today is kind of a busy day.”

Chae nodded her head. “Yeah, of course.”

“And you should be getting some rest. You don’t need to be running around.”

She blew a raspberry. “Oh come on Jin, I’m fine. You did most of the work. Besides, I’m late to the game. I need to start training and get a little better while I can.”

Jin shrugged. “Alright, suit yourself. Also, anything you can report to me about communication methods?”

“Oh! I forgot to tell you. Jennie found Bluetooth communication. There these little earpieces, like we are the fuckin’ Justice League or some shit. They are super cool.” A huge grin crossed her face as she swung her arms all around. One almost hit Jin in the face. “We took a couple just to see how well they would work. You wanna look?”

“I’ll take your word for it. I have other stuff to attend to. But uh, try it out and let me know how things go. I bet they work fine.”

Chae saluted him as she flashed a toothy grin. “Aye aye, captain!” she patted Jin on the shoulder before disappearing into thin air. Probably back to Jennie’s room if Jin had to bet money.

He continued back to his room and pushed open the door, planning on reading and studying the map Chae had helped add locations to. They had to be ready, and know every single possible point of attack at every given sign.

Jin was surprised to see Tae sitting on his bed.

And he didn’t look happy.

“You fucking prick, you tell me right now what they are doing to Jimin. I want to know right fucking now, or I will start breaking stuff.”

Jin raised his hands in defense, one shifting back to reach for the doorknob. Tae raised an eyebrow, one eye twitching as he popped up from the bed and took a step forward.

“Tae, I don’t want to worry you. Things aren’t looking good for anyone there, but we are going to rescue them very soon. We have a plan.”

“I don’t care about your fucking plan or your fucking order. I want Jimin to be back here safe and sound. I know they are hurting him, and I know you are hiding something, so you better fucking tell me.”

“You promise you won’t break anything?”

“I can’t promise anything.”

Jin let out a sigh of defeat. “Okay, fine. Look, they hurt Jimin pretty bad. His powers are difficult to understand and figure out, and they’ve been using him for a lot of experiments. I don’t know much more than that.”

Without warning, Tae slammed him against the door and snarled. “Stop fucking lying Jin, or I won’t hesitate to rip your bones out of your body.”

“I’m not lying. What do you want me to tell you? He’s hurt bad.”

“Then what the fuck are we waiting for? I realize you don’t have someone important there, but Jimin is pretty fucking important to me. I love him. Do you fucking understand the concept of love?”

“Don’t you pull that fucking card on me, Kim, you know very well I do.” Jin was raising his voice now too. He was done with trying to stay calm.

Tae’s grip softened. “I’m sorry, I forgot. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.” His voice was barely over a whisper now, and tears started to run rivers down his face. “I miss him Jin, I miss him so much. I haven’t been away from him this long in such a long time, and just knowing how much pain he’s in is not coping well with me. I know we need to be patient, need to think things through, but I need to know he’s okay. I need to hold him in my arms and kiss him and tell him everything is alright, that he’s safe. I need him right next to me in bed. I need to hear him laugh and see him smile and--” Tae choked, his legs buckling so hard he landed on his knees. Jin dropped down next to him.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. Everyone copes in different ways. Look at Namjoon and Kai. They are missing loved ones as well, but they are more angry than sad or afraid. And we are going to get everyone and bring them home, okay? Everyone is going to be okay. I promise. Two weeks, we are going after them with everything we got, and we're going to kick ass.”

“He’s weak,” Tae sobbed into his hands. “What if he doesn’t make it?”

“Don’t think that way,” Jin said sharply, “he’s okay. Jimin is strong, you and I both know that. He’s not weak at all. I know he’s strong, okay? Things are going to be okay. You should try going down to the gym. Get all that anger and sadness and frustration out into one giant workout. Bring the roof down.” After a moment, he added, “metaphorically of course.” Tae sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand.

“God, I’m sorry. I haven’t cried like that in a while.” He shook his head. “But thank you. That’s a really good idea. I’m going to go do that.” Jin helped him stand up, and then Tae gave him the biggest hug he could muster. It was a little awkward, considering Jin was a good bit taller than him, but Tae was being genuine and it was good that he trusted him.

“Things are going to be okay man,” Jin promised. Tae forced a smile before disappearing out the door, red-rimmed eyes and all. Jin collapsed on his bed.

Being a leader was hard work.

  
  



	16. 016

“Wakey wakey sleepyhead!” a girl giggled, her voice high pitched, and frankly, kind of annoying. Jungkook groaned. He could feel her poking his cheek. “Come on, I brought you food.”

“What time is it?” he asked in a mumble as he attempted to get the sleep out of his eyes. He had to admit, the small girl was extremely beautiful. She had long purple hair that faded into red and giant brown eyes, all complete with a giant smile on her face. In her hands, she was cradling what looked to be an energy bar.

“It’s almost ten o’clock. I know Mr. Jay said you’d be going through phase two without any pain medication, but you kept screaming all day yesterday and I had to put you out of your misery. So now it’s morning! And you should eat this because you haven’t eaten in a day. Oh, I’m Yerim by the way. I’m Mr. Jay’s right-hand man.” her grin grew wider as she unwrapped part of the energy bar and broke a piece off. She waved it around. “Open up, love!”

He narrowed his eyes at her because this was ridiculous, but he could feel his stomach practically begging for food so he listened and allowed her to drop the piece into his mouth. Jungkook chewed slowly, watching her every move. She didn’t move until Jungkook had finished eating.

Then Yerim turned towards his IV and monitor, her eyes scanning for any slipups. She pointed to a rapid jump in the steady line. “Your heart had a freakout here.”

“Whoops.”

She giggled again. “You’re funny Jungkookie, I like you. You’re different, especially for a human.” Yerim paused, her face scrunching up like she was thinking extremely hard, as she stroked her chin. “But I guess you technically aren’t human anymore, are you? That’s exciting. That means I’ll get you all to myself.” Yerim leaned over to brush Jungkook’s cheek. He scowled and moved his head to the best of his ability.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m gay. Like, pretty damn gay.”

“Mr. Jay told me you had a freak over at the other clan, but I didn’t expect it to be true. How can someone as pretty as you be gay?”

“The hot ones always are gay, aren’t they?”

Yerim threw her head back in laughter, her hair falling over her shoulders. She was very pretty; Jungkook was sure any guy would do anything she asked. But Jungkook wasn’t any guy.

“God, you are just a riot! Damn.” She smiled, her full lips pressed tightly together. She began weaving her fingers through Jungkook’s hair, separating the long strands that were the faded turquoise from his natural brown. “Mr. Jay wants me to redo your hair. He’s thinking red, but I’m not sure. I bet you looked pretty damn sexy with black hair.”

Jungkook scoffed. Yerim ran one of her hands down Jungkook’s arm, causing him to shudder at her soft touch. Her smile turned more towards a smirk. She focused on his tattoo sleeve and began running her fingers up and down the various designs.

“I’ve always had a thing for men with tattoos,” she added softly. “God Jungkook, you are just extraordinary.” a sigh escaped her lips and she sat up straight and moved to the back of the room to grab the clipboard. “Unfortunately, we don’t have time to fool around right now. We’ve got to get you started on phase three. Just answer the questions honestly, okay?” she stuck her tongue out the corner of her mouth and tapped the pen on the side of the clipboard.

“How are you feeling?”

“Fine.” You know, if he wasn't trapped and being experimented on.

“Do you feel stronger? Faster? I don’t know what those things are supposed to feel like.” She shrugged as Jungkook raised an eyebrow.

“Completely honest?” she nodded. “I don’t feel any different.”

Yerim frowned. “It probably hasn’t kicked in yet. That’s okay. Phase three is just a little stuff. We have to make you look like a soldier.” She laughed once more. “You are so gorgeous, I’m just picturing you in uniform right now.” Jungkook rolled his eyes again. She clucked her tongue, eyes drifting back to the clipboard. “Alrighty, vitals look good, you’ve been fed, which means I get to do the fun part.” She flashed Jungkook a toothy grin before raising a hand to her right ear.

“Yerim to Jay, Jeon is doing fine. Should I commence phase three?” she waited patiently for an answer. “No sir, nothing has shown up yet. I’m thinking things are still reacting. Yes, it’s in his system. Yes of course. No sir. I--” she closed her mouth and her eyes filled with fear. Jungkook figured she was probably getting yelled at. When she spoke again, her voice was shaky. “Y-Yes sir, of course. Do you have the--” Yerim bit her lip. “Okay. we’ll be here. Yerim out.” her hand came down from her ear and she tugged down on her shirt with a forced smile.

“Kim is bringing the hair dye, so I'm taking you down to another room. Are you, uhm, can you move?”

“Are you okay?” Jungkook asked because it was the right thing to do. The girl looked like she was about to burst into tears.

“What? Yeah, I’m fine. Anyways, I’ve gotta get you down there, so...” her voice trailed off as her eyes wandered around the room. Jungkook nodded.

“Uh yeah, okay.” He pulled up on the shackles around his wrists, trying to adjust them until Yerim could get them off, but instead, there came a loud groaning sound and the two of them froze. Yerim stared.

“What did you just do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Jungkook said as he pulled up again, completely splitting both shackles in half. He stared in disbelief, his breath lodging in his throat.

“Oh my God,” she said quietly, a smile rising to her lips. A real, genuine smile this time. “Jungkook, you are brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!”

He found himself unable to say a single word. He couldn’t believe how that was possible, that was metal he had just ripped in half. How on earth did he, how could he--

“We’ve failed, we’ve failed so many times, but look at you! You were strong enough to survive, and oh my God! We did it!” she laughed loudly as her hands scrambled to grab the clipboard. Yerim began scrawling across the paper.

With his eyes on Yerim, Jungkook slowly moved one hand to the restraints across his waist, getting a good grip so he could pull. They came off easily, like tearing paper. He still couldn’t believe this, any of this, was even possible.

He pulled off the shackles around his ankles and sat up straight on the table, rubbing his wrists to bring back some feeling to them. Next came out the IV, a simple pull with an added hiss of pain as the needle slipped out of his skin. He was free. He could get out. He could go find the others and leave this godforsaken place.

Yerim was staring at him when he looked back up, her eyes gleaming with lust. “You’re not going anywhere Jungkookie, hope you realize that.”

“But I’m stronger than you now. What are you going to do about it?” he was challenging her, trying to create a diversion. But she only scoffed and moved closer to him, her eyes never leaving his defensive position. Although Jungkook was much taller than her, she still managed to match his threatening stance.

“If you’re stronger than me, go ahead and do something about it,” Yerim smirked, gesturing towards Jungkook as she backed up towards the wall. He jumped off the table and followed until he had managed to trap her in a corner.

“Trapped,” Jungkook declared, pushing one hand against her shoulder. She feigned pain, her eyelids fluttering.

And suddenly Jungkook couldn’t move. He physically couldn’t move any part of his body, not even his eyes or mouth. He was locked on Yerim’s smirk.

She flipped him around so he was pressed against the wall, a small laugh escaping her lips. “My powers come in handy, Jungkookie. You aren’t going anywhere until I say you can.” Yerim waved a simple wiggle of her fingers, before skipping over to the counter where she opened up a drawer to reveal a pocket knife. She flickered it open, cleaned the blade with her shirt, and then approached Jungkook once more, where she lifted the fabric of his thin shirt and sliced it clean. She cut until she could tear and pulled the scraps and remains of his shirt off of him. It went to the floor.

Yerim let out a low whistle. “Damn, phase two did good things to you.” One hand rested on his stomach while the other tugged down on his jeans to better see the V of his muscles. God, did he wish he could stop her from whatever she was planning on doing. “You are so attractive,” she mumbled before pulling away. “Your little friend is very lucky.”

Jungkook wished he could say something.

Yerim was back over at the drawers, pulling out one of those stupid collars. She pushed something on it until the red light turned on, already fulfilling its blinking duties. “Congrats Jungkook, you are now considered a talent.” Yerim locked it around his neck and Jungkook almost immediately slumped to the floor. She grinned at him from above. “Now come on, we gotta get you down for phase three. You’re almost there soldier.”

Yerim helped Jungkook stand up, and then she was muttering something into her radio before pulling his hands behind his back and locking his handcuffs. They were way more advanced in torturing technology than back home. If he got out alive, he’d have to tell Tae to start up some new techniques.

Together they moved down the hallway, Jungkook looking around as they walked. This was the first time he had seen the building, and Chae was right. It was huge. He was trying to memorize the ways they were going, but Yerim was moving quickly and they were turning left and then right and then another left so fast that it was hard to keep up. The collar around his neck made him feel like his body weighed a thousand tons and it was hard for him to even stand up straight.

As they passed jail cells, Jungkook stared, terrified, at all the broken looking talents in the cells. He didn’t recognize anyone, but all were covered in so much dirt and blood it was hard to tell who they were anyway.

But then there was a flash of faded purple.

“Soobin?” Jungkook exclaimed, stopping suddenly which caused Yerim to slam into him. She rubbed her nose and groaned loudly.

“Jungkook?” Soobin was to the bars in seconds, a giant blood-encrusted cut right above his eyebrow. His eyes were wide. “Why are you here? What’s going on?”

“We don’t have time for a family reunion right now love,” Yerim said, giving Jungkook a nudge forward. He tried to stand his ground.

“Things are going to be okay Soobin, I promise.”

“Jungkook, what did they do to you?” He was starting to hyperventilate, and Yerim let out a sigh. She raised a hand back up to her ear.

“Cellblock A, prisoner 21-B, I need a name. Choi Soobin? Perfect, thank you. Can you give him, yeah that’s perfect, thank you.” Once she clicked off, Yerim flashed a fake grin. “Choi, I’m gonna need you to back away.”

“What did you do to him?” Soobin was yelling now, his knuckles turning white from gripping the bars too hard. Jungkook shook his head, trying to tell Soobin that he needed to stop talking without saying anything.

“Back away,” Yerim repeated, her tone more firm this time. He still didn’t listen. With a sigh, Yerim leaned down and pressed a button located on some sort of panel on her belt. Soobin crumpled to the floor, a scream coming out of his mouth and echoing throughout the hallway.

“Stop!” Jungkook yelled, trying to turn around to stop her. “He’s just a kid!” 

Yerim put a hand on Jungkook’s back and shoved him forward. “Keep moving Jeon, we are on a very tight schedule.” Jungkook tried to avoid her shoves, but she was stronger than him and able to continue pulling him down the hallway. He wanted to punch something because he knew this was happening, he had just watched it happen, and that was not okay. None of this way okay. It was pretty damn awful actually.

When they reached the right room, Yerim inputted the code, and Jungkook was pulled inside like he weighed nothing. He let out a frustrated sigh as he was thrown down into a chair recklessly and strapped to it. There was another girl in the room, another short blonde. She looked like she could kill someone with one glare.

“Is this him?” she asked, nodding his head towards Jungkook. 

Yerim nodded her head. “Kim, meet Jeon Jungkook, the first successful super-soldier. He survived phases one and two.”

Kim scoffed. “So I’m stuck helping with the little stuff. Of course. He’ll never trust me with anything else.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re not from around here.” She giggled. “This is Jungeun, but most people just call her Kim. Don’t piss her off though. Bad things will happen.”

“So I’m expecting you to do everything we say.” she cracked her knuckles and Jungkook gulped. For someone so small, she was terrifying 

“We are under strict orders not to do any harm to him,” Yerim warned as she went to the back of the room and pulled open a cabinet. She began mixing a powder and a liquid.

“Yeah yeah yeah, whatever. I won’t hurt the captain.” she scoffed. “Dye’s by the sink, Yerim.”

“Thank you.” She craned her neck to flash her a smile and then went back to mixing whatever she was making. Kim continued studying Jungkook. She walked around him in a small circle with her arms folded tightly across her chest. It began to make Jungkook uneasy.

“What are we supposed to do with him again?”

“Haircut, some grooming, dye his hair, change eye color... make him look proper I guess. That’s the orders.”

“He isn’t going to look proper with an arm full of tattoos and this whole punk goth look he’s got going on.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes.

“Fine, let me rephrase. We have to make him look intimidating.”

“Well, that might be a challenge, considering he looks like a high school dropout.” 

“Oh shut it, Kim, he’s hot.” Yerim winked and turned back around to pour the mixture into a glass. It was dark brown, lumpy, and didn’t look appetizing at all. Jungkook hoped he didn’t have to drink that.

Yerim approached the two of them, glass in hand. She lowered herself to move the glass closer to Jungkook’s lips.

Yeah, of course, they were going to force him to drink it.

“This usually is injected but I’m figuring this will move a lot faster this way. It’s gonna glaze your eyes over, make them look really dark, like a demon or something. Really intimidating. You’ll also be extremely sexy.” She sighed happily before moving the glass even closer. “Drink all of it.”

“And don’t forget we have ways of making you do stuff,” added Kim as she pointed to his neck. Jungkook took a deep breath as Yerim poured the liquid down his throat.

It tasted disgusting and he wanted to throw it up almost immediately, but he kept chugging, figuring there might be some light on the other end of the tunnel. The minute Yerim pulled the now empty glass away, Jungkook was sputtering, his eyes squeezing shut as he coughed loudly.

“Get him some water,” Yerim demanded. Jungkook felt her hand on his shoulder. “It’s a bunch of weird stuff that acts with the nerves in your eyes. Don’t worry, you aren’t going to die.”

He was incredibly thankful when she started pouring water down his throat. It was the nicest thing he had felt in a while. Yerim was treating him like a kid, whispering “It’s all good baby, things are gonna be okay” and stroking his back with her hand. It was weird. He didn’t like her, but she had been the nicest one to him at least so far, even if she did like him, uh, like that.

“When is this thing supposed to work?” Kim asked with a wave of her hand. Yerim shrugged.

“Beats me. But we have to continue. You wanna go get the stuff?”

“Yeah. I’ll be back.” With a sharp nod, she disappeared out the door leaving just the two of them. Yerim turned back to grin.

“All alone,” she whispered in a singsong tone before going over to the sink. She opened the hair dye and put on the gloves that came with it.

“You ever dyed someone’s hair before?” Jungkook asked nervously because he had suffered through plenty of bad hair dying experiences. Yerim scoffed.

“Of course I have. Let a woman do her job.”

Jungkook didn’t say another word.

\---

Jennie and Chae barrelled into Jin’s room at the speed of sound looking terrified beyond all belief. Jin looked up from the map.

“The door’s unlocked,” Jennie said quietly. Chae nodded her head.

“What? What do you mean?”

“I mean, the door is unlocked. Which meant somebody without a key left.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t Chae again?” Jin teased, causing Chae to scowl.

“This is serious Jin. Have you authorized anyone to leave recently?”

“No, I haven’t.” Jin cleared his throat and stood up from his bed. “How did you guys find out?”

“I was going to show Jennie the way to Horror Island, remember? We saw the door was unlocked.”

“There are footprints too,” Jennie added. “They led towards the garage, but we didn’t go that far. We went straight here.”

“That’s strange, nobody was supposed to leave...” Jin trailed off, lost in his thoughts before something hit him. “Oh my God. Oh no no no no no no no no NO!” Instead of answering the sisters’ confused expressions, Jin darted out of his bedroom and down the hallway, all the way until he reached Jungkook’s room. He didn’t even bother knocking, just ran right in.

The bed was made, nothing out of the ordinary to be found. His guitar still sat in the corner, but there was an empty feeling in the room.

Jin opened drawers, went into the bathroom to look for a toothbrush, a razor, shampoo, but nothing was there and all his clothes were gone. He sank to his knees in defeat. Jennie and Chae were joining him in seconds.

“He’s gone,” Jin whispered, his eyes starting to water. “He left.”

“Jungkook is gone?” Chae asked, but she could kind of figure he was based on the emptiness of the room. Jennie sighed angrily and ran her fingers through her hair.

“That means that it was him that left the door unlocked. Those were his footprints. I wondered why I hadn’t seen him in a while.”

“Why would he leave?” Jin asked no one in particular. “Why would he, of all times? Where is he even going to go?”

“You guys weren’t on the best of terms,” Chae pointed out. She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “And his relationship with Yoongi kind of sank, so I can see why.” She offered a hand to Jin, who graciously accepted.

“Take me to where you saw the footprints,” he demanded, and Jennie nodded his head. They traveled through the hallway and out the door. It was sunny today, sunlight managing to sneak through cracks in the foliage.

“Here,” Jennie pointed. Jin crouched down.

Sure enough, there were dried, faint traces of footprints disappearing in the direction of the garage. He began to follow them, keeping his eyes peeled for any more traces or signs of where Jungkook might have gone. The three of them walked quietly, all looking until Chae froze.

“Not good,” She mumbled, looking up at them. Jin and Jennie moved over to see two more trails of footprints crisscrossing in the dirt.

“Whose are those?” Jennie questioned. Jin shrugged. He stood still and closed his eyes, trying to locate Jungkook’s current emotion.

Disgust, pleasure, small traces of fear.

What on earth was he doing?

“He doesn’t seem too scared,” Jin answered as he opened his eyes, even though it wasn’t the answer to the question Jennie asked. He continued walking, the sisters following.

Then Jin stopped moving because there was Jungkook’s hat lying in the middle of a patch of branches, and his duffel bag recklessly thrown to the side. There were three sets of footprints.

“That’s really not good,” said Chae as she shoved her hands deep into her pockets. Jennie let out a low whistle.

“He got kidnapped,” Jin said quietly as he reached to grab Jungkook’s hat from the bushes. He brushed off a few strands of grass and stared at it in his hands.

“Well, we can’t assume that,” Jennie started, but Chae cut her off.

“The footprints continue the way to the other clan’s base, I really think they did take him.”

“It would make sense,” Jin continued, “Jay wanted to use him as their final attempt at making a talent. They are probably treating him nicely since he is their creation after all.”

“But wouldn’t Jungkook be freaking out right now?” Chae ran a hand through her hair. “It’s horrible there, and they're probably experimenting on him right now.”

“We don’t know that,” Jennie was trying to stay positive, but Jin shook his head.

“Get this: Jungkook agreed to be their test subject.”

“No way.” Chae looked shocked while Jennie just sighed.

“They can’t be doing good things to him,” Jin felt his heart drop. “Another person we have to save.”

“And I damn well better be invited.” The three of them swiveled around at the arrival of a new voice. Yoongi stood there, freshly groomed and his shiny gloves covering his hands. His eyes glowed gold and his hair shone blonde, but there was something different about him.

“Oh no,” Chae whispered, finishing with a gulp. Jennie took a step back.

“How did you get out?” Jin asked in astonishment.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you.” he rolled his eyes and they drained to dark with a tilt of his head, his hair following suit. Yoongi let out a small smirk. “There, all better?”

“Oh my God. You did it.” Jin felt like his feet were nailed to the floor.

“So what’s this about my boyfriend getting captured?” Yoongi picked Jungkook’s hat out of Jin’s hands and twirled it around on one finger. He crept between Chae and Jennie to throw Jungkook’s duffel over his shoulder.

“Where did you come from?” Jin was still dumbfounded. He hadn’t seen Yoongi in almost a month and yet, here he stood, better than ever.

“I had Namjoon let me out. He’s not very happy Hoseok is missing. Also, what is this about you being the leader? Thought that was my job.”

“Well of course it is, we just thought you weren’t ready, able to, because of--”

“Yet here I am.” he paused. “Anyways, tell me about Jungkook being taken.”

“Jungkook isn’t here anymore, and all signs point to him being captured,” Chae spoke up, her eyes on the ground. Yoongi raised a hand to his chin.

“Did you know he agreed to let them do experiments on him? For you, he said.” Yoongi stared at Jin like he was crazy.

“What have they been doing?”

“Oh yeah, you’ve been out of the loop.” Jin scratched his head. “Jay’s in another clan. He was sent here to scope out what talents they could use for experiments. They’ve been attempting to turn humans into talents.”

“And failing,” added Chae. She pushed the toe of her shoe into the dirt.

“But Jungkook agreed to let them do that stuff to him?” Yoongi suddenly looked really scared. “Why would he do that? They’re going to hurt him, we’ve gotta do something, gotta go after them!”

“We have a plan Yoongi, don’t worry. In a little less than two weeks, we are going. Everyone’s been preparing. Chae was about to show Jennie the way there, scope out some stuff. Ways in and whatnot.”

“Two weeks? They could kill him by then!”

“Chae just barely escaped, we have to have time for it to not be suspicious. He’s okay right now, I promise. We just have to be cautious.”

Yoongi sighed but nodded his head in agreement. “We are going in guns blazing, I don’t care what happens. We are getting back Jungkook, we are getting back everyone they took. I know they took you Chae, who else did they take?”

“Jimin, who has had it pretty bad, Hoseok, Soobin, Yeojin, and Taehyun.”

“Fucking assholes. I don’t care what it takes, they are going down. Nobody takes my people and gets away with it.” he sighed, before continuing in a softer voice. “How’s Tae doing?”

Jin frowned. “Not well.”

“That’s what I thought.” Yoongi ran a hand through his hair again. “I bet everyone is super upset.”

“Namjoon never leaves the gym,” Chae commented sadly.

“Okay, well then we are planning for two weeks. Chae, you go ahead and continue with Jennie, Jin, I’m gonna head back with you. Good?”

“Great.” Chae pulled on her sister’s arm and they began walking the opposite way.

Jin and Yoongi were quiet for the first half of the journey. Jin watched him silently, trying to get a read on his current emotional state. He and Agust seemed to be on good terms, and he wasn’t sure how. Yoongi had never seemed like the kind of person to work with well with him, but here he was.

“How have things been with the other guy?” Jin finally inquired, because he really wanted to know what happened to make things change.

“A lot happened in that month. I got lost in my own head, Agust had a small freakout, I went crazy, and now we are working together. We have a goal. Jungkook.”

“We’re going to get him back, Yoongi, we are going to get all of them back. I promise.”

“I know. I just, what if they’ve already started doing stuff to him? I don’t like thinking about that. Especially because he came down to see me and I tried to kill him.”

“You did WHAT?” Jin suddenly stopped in the middle of the path and turned to face Yoongi. Yoongi looked guilty.

“I told you. I was lost in my own head. It wasn’t me, but it was. And we ended on bad terms, and I just need to make sure he’s okay because Jin, I’m in love with him.”

“Oh, Yoongi.” Jin sighed heavily and reached to pull him into a hug. “Everything is going to be okay.”

“Like I haven’t heard that before.”

“Hey.” He pulled away and rested his hands on Yoongi’s shoulders. “We are here to follow your lead boss.”

Yoongi grinned. “Then this means war.”


	17. 017

“Alright Jungkook, you ready to see your newly groomed self?” Yerim was grinning ear to ear as she put the finishing touches to Jungkook’s supposedly “intimidating” look. After they dyed his hair, Yerim cut it, leaving it trimmed and perfect. Then she paused to freak out about his eyes because they were starting to gloss over. They gave him new clothes, and now Yerim was putting dark makeup around his eyes. He protested, but it wasn’t like he was going to be able to stop her anyway. She kept squealing with excitement, and every time Junguen would roll her eyes and groan audibly. Then she would shush her.

“Yeah, sure. Whatever,” he grumbled, causing Yerim to frown.

“Come on Jungkookie, get excited!”

“It’s all theatrics. This isn’t intimidating, it’s just plain stupid,” added Kim. Jungkook agreed.

“Well, I think you look lovely.” she set down the brush and kissed him on the cheek. Kim sighed again as she bounced over to the counter to get a mirror.

Jungkook held his breath until she shoved the mirror in front of his face. And okay, he did look scary, in a weird way. His hair was blood red, the dark makeup around his eyes making him look like a vampire. Not to mention that his eyes were so dark purple that they were practically black and he truly did look like a demon. 

“Woah,” was his response. Yerim squealed again.

“You like? Oh Jungkookie, you are going to be the best we’ve ever done.”

Kim scoffed. “I’ll believe it when I see it. So what are we supposed to do now?”

“Let me ask.” she went to her radio. “Yerim to Jay, phase three is complete. Waiting for further instructions. Yes, sir, he looks lovely. Of course. Should I take him back to lab one? Who? Yeah, we can do that. Can you give me the info? Thank you sir.” when she clicked off, Yerim turned towards her current partner. “Cellblock D, prisoner 246-01. Jung Hoseok. Jay wants you to take him there.”

“I get to see Hoseok?” Jungkook asked hopefully. Yerim nodded.

“You’ve earned it. See what being good does for you? Kim’s going to take you and then you’ll go somewhere else for phase four. You’re almost there Jungkookie.”

“Why do I have to be the babysitter?” Kim whined. Jungkook guessed she didn’t get to do much around here.

“Because you’re good at being the babysitter. Now hurry. Jung Hoseok is due for DNA fragmenting at noon.”

“Fine.” She pulled a small silver key out of her pocket and gestured for Jungkook to get out of the chair. Then she was locking handcuffs tightly around Jungkook’s wrists and giving him a little push towards the door.

“See you later love!” Yerim called out behind them, blowing Jungkook a kiss. He sighed as Junguen gave him another shove. They walked for a little while, Jungkook once more looking at all the miserable talents locked away in cells. Most of them were slumped against the walls.

When they reached cell block D, Junguen started counting the cell numbers under her breath before they stopped. Jungkook could see Hoseok’s familiar soft brown hair and his jean jacket leaning against the back wall. His eyelids were fluttering like he was trying to sleep.

Jungkook dropped to his knees outside his cell and tried to pull at his handcuffs. Junguen hung back.

“Hoseok!” Jungkook whispered harshly, not wanting to annoy the others around them. The girl in the cell next to Hoseok wrapped her hands around the bars as Hoseok’s eyes shot open. His mouth dropped.

“Jungkook? What are you doing here? What happened to you?” he climbed to the front of his cell on his hands and knees and sat gaping at Jungkook’s new appearance. Jungkook shook his head.

“They kidnapped me too. They’ve been doing experiments on me man. How can you guys survive with being able to hear every damn thing?”

“Oh Jungkook, no.” he sounded sincere but also broken. His clothes were ripped and his skin was pale and covered in heavy blood-encrusted bruises.

“They’ve been doing it in phases. I don’t know what that means, but they are trying to turn me into some kind of weapon.” Jungkook lifted his neck so Hoseok could see the collar blinking around his neck. Hoseok shook his head sadly again.

“I’m so sorry Jungkook. I’m so, so, sorry.”

“We are going to get you guys out of here, okay? We are going to get everyone out.”

“You’re going to get us out?” the girl in the cell next to them asked, her eyes just as wide as Hoseok’s had been. She seemed fascinated with Jungkook’s freaky demon eyes.

“That’s Jisoo,” Hoseok said.

“Yeah, I promise. I just need to-”

“Alright Jeon, times up.” Kim pulled hard on the back of Jungkook’s neck to put him back on his feet, but Jungkook shoved her away.

“Why do you guys keep hurting these people? Can’t you see how broken they are?” he was angry.

Kim only scoffed. “For the love of God, can’t we ever have one prisoner that listens? This is ridiculous.” She lifted a finger to her right ear. “Kim requesting permission for cell block D, label 246-01, and 145-G. Kim Jisoo and Jung Hoseok. Yep, thank you much.” once she clicked off, she pressed a button on a small panel just like the one Yerim had and both Jisoo and Hoseok crumpled to the floor, their screams echoing throughout the hallway as electricity coursed through their bodies. Jungkook wanted to scream himself.

“Stop it!” he fought back, managing to kick Junguen before she moved away. Junguen glared at Jungkook.

“I told you to watch yourself. You might be worshipped around here, but I could care less about you pathetic excuse for a talent.” she sneered, reaching for the button on her belt. Jungkook repeated the actions of Jisoo and Hoseok previously, pain shooting through his veins from his feet to his head. He let a scream escape from his lips as he tumbled back down to the floor in a curled heap.

“I know who all your little buddies are Jungkook, and I can make your life miserable. I can get access to all of them. There’s 21-B: Choi Soobin, 467-J: Kang Taehyun, 358-97: Im Yeojin. Or my personal favorite, 27-F. Park Jimin.”

“No,” Jungkook gasped, eyes squeezed shut. He could barely breathe.

“Park Jimin is a favorite around here. He’s so much fun to watch. He bleeds like a motherfucker though. And his screams are loud.” Junguen laughed loudly. “Get this: someone put a bent hanger on the hand that got cut off. Now when his eyes glow blue and shit, we all laugh. He looks like an angry pirate.”

“Please.”

“You’re pathetic Jeon, you really are. Out of all people, I don’t know why Jay chose you.” She laughed again, but a loud beeping noise brought her laughter to an end. An intercom clicked on.

“Kim to room 113, now.” They did not sound happy.

She gulped before shooting Jungkook a look and disappearing down the hallway. Jungkook stared up at the ceiling, trying to regain his breath.

"Everyone alright?" That was Jisoo asking. Jungkook nodded his head, breaths still uneven and short.

"That is not pleasant."

"No, they aren't. She's an asshole."

"She comes down here a lot," added Hoseok. Jungkook could see him sit up from the corner of his eye. He attempted to sit up as well, using the nearby wall to drag himself up as best a guy wearing handcuffs could. Never did he want that to ever happen again. It was like the equivalent of getting struck by lightning.

“They’re going to come back for me,” Jungkook whispered, mostly directed towards himself than Hoseok. But Hoseok still answered.

“Run. Try and get away as far as possible. We can make it for a few more days.” he forced a smile, but it was too broken to even look remotely real. Jungkook sighed.

“I won't make it. But you’re going to get out.” He wanted to tell Hoseok their clan was coming, but that meant the others would hear him and their plan would get ruined. So he had to stick with being vague. “They are going to do something terrible to me Hoseok, and I don’t know if I’m going to survive. If I do, I probably won’t be me anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

Jungkook only shook his head sadly. “Namjoon misses you a lot, okay? He loves you. And I’m sure he’d be happy to know you’re okay.”

“He’s doing okay?” Hoseok seemed to perk up a little bit at the mention of Namjoon.

“He’s upset, but he’s doing okay.”

“Chae got out. They weren’t happy about it. Did she go back home?” Hoseok seemed hopeful. Jungkook looked around before quickly nodding his head.

“Jeon!” Jay yelled as he made his way down the hallway. Some of the people in the cells were booing. Jungkook sighed heavily.

“You’ll be okay, I promise!” Jungkook shouted back as Jay forcefully grabbed him and began shoving him down the hallway. Hoseok and Jisoo stared with worrying looks but said nothing more. Probably to avoid getting hurt, which Jungkook didn’t blame them for. Jay was mumbling under his breath as they walked.

“I’m sorry Kim was a fucking idiot,” he started, his mumbling now directed towards Jungkook. “She had strict orders not to harm you and she did and now she’s on probation.” Jungkook didn’t say anything. “But damn, Yerim was right. You look good. Very good. She did an extremely good job. We only have two more phases and you should be perfect. Although this next phase is a bitch and no one has survived. But I have faith in you.”

“What are you going to do to me?”

Jay only smirked. “Patience Jungkook, patience.”

After inputting the code to a room he had never been to, Jungkook was shoved in and stumbled over his feet. The room was huge and completely white, with a chamber on one side closed in by a thick glass wall. There were shackles on the other side of the wall, Jungkook noticed. For him, most likely.

He gulped.

“Now I’ve been thinking of some ideas for your main power, the thing that’s going to play a role in the soldier experience. But after seeing how Yerim designed you, I’m thinking of Operation Torch.”

“Operation Torch?” repeated Jungkook with less enthusiasm. Jay nodded. He pushed Jungkook against the back wall and began stripping off his clothing. Jungkook didn’t even bother trying to fight him. He was too afraid of getting shocked again. Once Jungkook had as much skin exposed as possible, he opened up the chamber door and gave him a healthy push inside. The door shut loudly behind them.

Jay started explaining as he exchanged Jungkook’s handcuffs for the shackles on the wall. “Kim has quite an extraordinary power that is usually not very helpful, but today will be. So although she’s on probation and is a fucking idiot, she will be a big help to us. Nuclear energy is her specialty.”

This was bad.

“We are shifting your atoms over to those of pure energy. She’s going to help separate and use radioactivity to pretty much kill you and bring you back to life, only to put you in some sort of limbo state. But because you’ll be pure energy, you’ll be extremely hot. You could melt metal with a single touch. Every single part of your body will be able to combust into flames if this goes right.”

“No,” Jungkook whispered in horror because they were going to change his entire chemical makeup and there was no way in hell he was going to be able to survive that.

“Oh come on Jungkookie, that’s cool!” Jay was still grinning. He left the room and came back with a roll of duct tape. “But just so you don’t keep talking, I’m gonna go ahead and use some of this.” One hand gripped Jungkook’s chin firmly while the other slapped a strip over his mouth. Jungkook tried to pull it away using his tongue, but it was no use. He let out a muffled scream.

“Stop being overdramatic.” Jay rolled his eyes. “After, while you’re still out, I’m going to have Jung do some programming, really turn you into the perfect weapon. Say goodbye to your emotions.”

Jungkook screamed again.

Jay trailed his fingertips across Jungkook’s cheek with a happy sigh. “Don’t worry Jeon, things are going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.” A hand went up to his ear. “Jay to Kim, Operation Torch is a go. Please come as soon as possible. Great.” He stared at Jungkook with a large smile. “You’re beautiful Jungkook, absolutely fucking beautiful. I’m so happy we found you.” Jungkook wanted to die. It would be a lot better than this. Why did he ever think it would be a good idea to do stuff like this? Before he even knew what was going to happen, and now it was happening and Jungkook felt like the biggest fucking idiot in the entire universe. How could he have taken care of Yoongi or anyone if he couldn’t even take care of himself? Now they were turning him into a monster, and he wouldn’t be able to control what he did. Would they make him kill people? Torture? Kidnap? He didn’t want to think about it. Jungkook was stupid.

The others weren’t even coming for another week and Jungkook might be dead by then. Or he might be so evil that they kill him and go back to living life the way it was before Jungkook was there.

Why couldn’t those thugs have killed him that night and saved him all the trouble?

Kim’s entry into the room interrupted Jungkook’s thoughts. She flashed Jungkook a wicked smile and cracked her knuckles again.

“You know what we talked about?” Jay asked, and Kim nodded her head. “Great. Well then Jungkook, I’ll see you in a couple of days.” He left the room leaving Jungkook alone with someone he despised.

Kim raised a fist and used her other hand to wave with a simple wiggle of his fingers. “Bye-bye Jungkookie.” And then her fist was slamming into Jungkook’s temple, knocking him out cold.

\---

Yoongi sat cross-legged in the middle of Jungkook’s bed as he went through the clothes Jungkook had stuffed away in his duffel. It was nothing unusual, just shirts and pants and shorts. But then he noticed Jungkook had shoved some of Yoongi’s clothes in there as well and it made him smile.

Jungkook had wanted to remember him.

He pulled out one of his personal favorites of Jungkook’s shirts, a simple plain black t-shirt. Jungkook always looked good whenever he wore it. Yoongi buried his face in it.

It still smelled like him.

Damn, did he miss Jungkook. He tried to remember the last time they had kissed, hugged, touched, but it seemed like such a long time ago. All he wanted was to see Jungkook again. He knew things wouldn’t be able to go back to how they had been, but at least he would know Jungkook was safe. He wondered why Jungkook was trying to leave, but then again, he completely understood why. No human wanted to live with a bunch of freaks.

Yoongi wondered if Jungkook was still human.

It scared the shit out of him not knowing what they were doing to Jungkook. They could be fanning and feeding him grapes or watching him scream and bleed.

_ We’re going to find him, Yoongi _ .

Yoongi sighed. He went back to digging in Jungkook’s bag. Razor, deodorant, cologne, shampoo, and his guitar pick box.

Yoongi opened the box and fiddled with one, flipping it between his fingers. It was old and almost chipped with use, but Yoongi liked that. He wished he would have kept up with an instrument as Jungkook did. Maybe he’d look into that. The piano wasn’t that hard to pick up again.

A knock on the door broke Yoongi away from his daydreams and he looked up to see Jin poke his head in.

“Uh, sorry to interrupt, but there are people that have questions, and since you are our leader, I assumed that you maybe would want to answer them.”

“Oh. Yeah. Of course.” Yoongi rolled off the bed and tugged down on his shirt before following Jin out the door. He shoved the pick in his back pocket.

People were staring at him again, but it wasn’t like it had been in the past. They seemed thankful that he was back.

Jin led him to the dining room where most everyone had already gathered. They were just waiting for a couple of stragglers before the “meeting” started. Yoongi kept glancing around him. It had been a while since he had been up here, and last time things had been on fire and people were injured. He was glad to see that things looked a little better now.

“Hey, guys?” Jin called out, causing everyone to look over at him. Yoongi felt some eyes on him as well. He couldn’t remember the last time he had stood in front of the group and delivered announcements, but did know the group had been significantly smaller back then.

Jin elbowed him and Yoongi cleared his throat. He waved awkwardly.

“Hey everyone. It’s good to see you again. Jin said you have some questions, so uhm, ask away.”

“How are you feeling, Yoongi?” Chaewon spoke up from the front of the crowd. She looked at him with concern.

He nodded his head. “I’m good. Things have been rough, but I’m all good now. Me, myself, and I are all on good terms.”

Someone scoffed. Both Jin and Yoongi were surprised to see it was Tae. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “How many times have I heard you say that, our dearest leader?”

“Tae,” Jin started, but Yoongi grabbed his arm.

“You’re right, but I’m serious. Here, I’ll give you a quick little demo.” Everyone watched closely as Yoongi took a few steps back and allowed Agust to take control. His dark locks quickly turned bleached as gold filled his eyes and the crowd let out a gasp.

“No, no, it’s okay. Yoongi’s gonna come right back,” he promised with a clasp of his hands. One deep breath later and Yoongi was back to normal. He looked over at Tae whose mouth was wide open.

“Close your mouth, you’ll catch flies.” a smirk rose to his lips. “Any more questions?”

“Are you taking over as leader?” Kai asked as he raised an eyebrow. He didn’t seem like he thought Yoongi was capable of that.

“Uhm...” he looked over at Jin, who gave a sharp nod.

“Look, guys, Yoongi’s been the leader since the beginning. I was just filling in until he got better. Give or take, I expected it to be a lot longer, but this is good.”

“And I’m not planning on changing anything Jin’s already figured out. He’s good with this kind of stuff. I’m just going to add on,” Yoongi continued. “But unfortunately I have more bad news. We had another member of our clan go missing. Jungkook.” At the mention of his name, the crowd filled with murmurs. Jin shushed them.

Yoongi had to swallow before speaking again. “We think that Jay’s clan might be using him as one of their human test subjects.”

“What?” Tae stood up from the wall in a panic.

“We don’t know if it’s true or not,” Jin assured, but nobody was buying it.

“He’s the one that gave himself up,” Chae whispered, causing Jin to shoot her a glare. Yoongi ran a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh.

“He wasn’t thinking.”

“Are you being for real here?” Tae was on the edge of exploding in anger. “He was going to let them experiment on him?”

“Now is not the time to talk about this.”

“I think it’s a perfect time to talk about this. You’re telling me that our people got captured to use for his shitty experiments and Jungkook was going to let them do whatever the fuck they wanted to him. Did he know what they were doing? They are taking our DNA and putting it into humans. How fucking messed up is that?”

“How hard do you think it must have been for him to live with us? He’s a human, we are not. You can’t tell me the idea didn’t cross his mind.”

People kept whispering, and it was making Yoongi mad.

“Jay probably threatened him. And he did bring up a valid point for why he wanted to do it.” Jin was trying to help Yoongi and Tae wasn’t having it.

“Oh yeah? What could that possibly be?”

“Me, stupid!” said Yoongi, and that got Tae to shut up. He stared at Yoongi, mouth stuck and at a loss of words.

“He said he wanted to be able to take care of Yoongi. Now you think Tae, you know you would do anything to be able to make Jimin’s life easier.” Jin commented.

Tae growled. “Don’t you dare bring Jimin into this.”

“But it’s true.” Namjoon pushed forward from the back and crossed his arms. “We’ve all lost people. And I would do anything for Hoseok.”

“I’d do anything for Soobin,” Kai added quietly from his slumped position. Tae’s jaw was clenched.

“You aren’t the only one who had a significant other get taken. And look, Taehyun and Yeojin are gone too and we are going to get all six of them back safe and sound, understand?” Tae stared angrily at Yoongi before huffing out of the room. Yoongi shrugged. “Moving on.”

“What do you think they’re doing to everyone?” Sooyoung chimed in.

“Bad stuff,” Chae answered. “They don’t care about anyone.”

“What about Jungkook?” That was Chaewon this time. Jiwoo had an arm around her shoulders, as she looked very concerned.

Chae sighed and rolled her shoulders. “Even worse stuff.”

“Nobody can know exactly until we get there. And I know Jin already talked about some stuff but I’m here to make sure everything is set in progress. We have these little earpieces everyone is going to get. We can discuss channels when the time comes. But I want everyone in groups. According to Chae, that place is huge and nothing like ours, so we need to be careful. They have the upper hand.” Yoongi let out a breath and began wringing his hands. He tried to focus on the back wall behind the crowd. “We have to go at night. There’s going to be a lot of people there, and we have to let out every single trapped person. The people that are patrolling, you need to do whatever is necessary. Even if that means taking them out.”

“Like, killing? Yoongi we can’t-” Yoongi waved a hand at Jin’s nervous expression.

“I mean it. They took seven of our people and hurt them. They’ve taken so many of their kind and tortured and abused them. That is not okay. I don’t care if it is in the name of science, it’s fucking screwed up. We are doing whatever means necessary to get everyone free. I know I’m not the best leader, and I know I haven’t been the best example around here. Most of my life has been ruled by fear. But I mean it when I say all of you are my family. You are all important to me and I can’t lose any more of you. I am ready to take back my life, save my people, and kick some fucking ass.”

Namjoon stepped next to Yoongi. He placed a hand on his shoulder with a small smile. “I’m with you.”

Kai stepped forward too. “Me too.”

One by one, everyone mumbled their agreements. Yoongi grinned.

“Alright then. Then this is happening.”

“Damn right it is.” Jin was grinning too.

“We leave next week. Everyone needs to be ready.”

“Yes sir.” Namjoon saluted.

“Then that’s it. We are getting our fucking people back.”

  
  



	18. 018

Three days had passed.

Jungkook was unconscious for all of them.

It took a long while for his chemical makeup to change, but Kim spent two long days doing everything Jay screamed at her to do until he was satisfied. They had to spend a day allowing him to cool off because his body was too hot to touch and they didn’t want to risk messing anything up.

While he was cooling off, Jung Jinsol was doing some things to Jungkook’s brain. She could change what people thought, could alter their emotions, make them an expert at almost anything, etc. In Jungkook’s case, he was removing the memory of speech, as Jay believed it was unnecessary to have Jungkook speak in case something in his “programming” went wrong. Jungkook also got all emotions wiped. He had a layout of the building put in his brain along with all the needed memories such as names. Jinsol also put some brief knowledge of Jungkook’s new skills based on past talents with similar powers.

On revealing day, Jay had his main trio there with him: Yerim, Kim, and Jinsol. They would be in charge of helping Jungkook adapt to his new environment and give him instructions.

“None of you can call him Jungkook, understand? From now on he’s Torch. This is our project and he isn’t the person he was before. He’s supposed to be a killer capable of much more than us. You need to be careful around him.” Jay explained as he peered into the chamber where Jungkook was currently laying. His skin now gave off this yellow glow and he was still too hot to touch. Jinsol had promised his body temperature would drop after he woke up and realized where he was.

“He shouldn’t hurt any of us of course,” Jinsol promised. “I said we were his friends and teammates. So.”

“But just in case. Just realize he’s extremely dangerous.” Jay clapped his hands together. “Kim? You want to do the honors?”

Kim rolled her eyes but adjusted the collar of her jacket and went to go open the door. Jay pulled on her arm.

“Almost forgot.” He pulled a grey T-shirt, a pair of black jeans, and a clean pair of boxers off the counter and shoved them into her hands. “He’s going to want to put clothes on. Tell him there’s a bathroom in the back corner.”

Kim scoffed. “Right, dangerous. Ok, sure.”

“Don’t question him Jungeun,” Yerim warned. She was terrified of what Jungkook was going to end up like.

“He is dangerous Kim. I’m serious.” Jinsol was staring at her with a very grim expression.

“I’m good guys, don’t worry.” She assured them before closing the door to the chamber. After putting the clothes to the side, she took a deep breath before gently placing a hand on the side of Jungkook’s head. They were right; he was incredibly warm. Kim was proud of her work.

Jungkook woke up in a gasp of air, his hand immediately wrapping around Kim’s wrist tightly. Jungeun grunted as his grip tightened. Jungkook stared at him, emotionless.

“I’m your friend,” Kim managed to spit out. She felt her wrist crack. “I’m here to help you!” Jungkook let go, leaving Jungeun to struggle to breathe as she rolled around on the floor with her now broken wrist pulled close to her chest. Jungkook looked around the room in a panic. He noticed Jay, Yerim, and… Jinsol, he remembered, Jung Jinsol, staring at him. He narrowed his eyes. What were they staring at?

Jay pushed open the door, his hands outstretched in front of him. “Hey there, how are you feeling?”

Jungkook tilted his head. Jay cleared his throat. “Uhm, there’s a bathroom over there so you can change. We can give you a radio too and go over assignments.”

Jungkook nodded. his eyes drifted away from Jay to his hands. One curled into a fist, but he looked confused as to why nothing was happening. Jay crouched down between Jungeun (who was still whimpering on the floor) and Jungkook.

“Don’t worry, we will get that pesky collar off of you, and then you’ll be able to use your powers freely.” He moved to help Kim while Jungkook pushed himself off the cement flooring and went to the bathroom to change.

The three were gathered at a table when Jungkook came out of the chamber. Yerim was helping to dress Kim’s fractured wrist and Jay was nervously tapping his fingers on the tabletop. They all stared at Jungkook when he came out. Yerim let out a noise of satisfaction, earning a loud groan from Jungeun.

Jungkook tilted his head up and pointed to his neck.

“Right, of course.” Jay pointed to Jinsol. “Get that off of him.”

With a nod, she pulled a small pin out of her pocket and approached cautiously with Jungkook staring at her with dead eyes. They all felt uneasy around him.

Jungkook flinched when Jinsol unlocked the collar. Their skin made contact and Jinsol pulled away with a hiss while Jungkook pulled it off and cracked his neck. He curled a fist again, watching as it burst into flame.

“God, his skin is hot!” Jinsol commented, her hand curled against her chest. Jay let out a cheer.

“We did it! We finally did it! Operation Torch is a success!”

At the mention of Torch, Jungkook glared over at Jay. His eyes narrowed and the flame went out.

“Do you understand what you are?”

Jungkook nodded.

“Good. You’re Torch. God, you are beautiful. Beautiful.”

“You’re a hundred percent correct on that part.” Yerim leaned forward on her elbows, staring at Jungkook with a large amount of lust. Jungkook looked over at her. “Does he still know he’s gay? Because it would be nice to pretend he’s my boyfriend for a while.”

Jinsol scoffed. Her hand was starting to blister where it had made contact with Jungkook’s skin. “I don’t think I changed anything regarding sexuality. But he doesn’t know what love is, so good luck pretending.”

“He’s so hot,” she swooned.

“Alright Yerim, back off for a little while, okay? You can play with him later. I call dibs first.” Jay cracked his knuckles. “I want to make sure he’s going to do his job effectively. We need to do some tests.”

Jungkook was still peering curiously at the four of them. He moved like a robot.

Jay pointed to a metal folding chair leaning against the back wall. "Break it.” Jungkook nodded his head sharply before turning on his heel and making his way back. He took it in his hands and pushed, creating a loud groaning noise and it twisted in on itself in seconds. They all stared in shock.

“What have we done?” Jinsol muttered under his breath. Jay shushed him.

“Are you going to obey everything I tell you to do?”

Jungkook nodded. Jay let out a loud laugh. He couldn’t believe this was happening. “Yerim?” at the mention of her name, Yerim stood up from the table. “I need you to fix his eye makeup. That was good. Fix his hair too. Jinsol, I need you to go get him a radio. We are taking him to visit Jung Hoseok.”

Jinsol’s eyes widened. “Sir, I don’t think that’s a good idea. They are friends, he’s going to call him Jun-” she stopped herself from finishing as Jungkook’s eyes met her. Jinsol swallowed uncomfortably. “You know what he’s going to call him. What if-”

“We need to make sure he can do every single thing we say. That means torturing. He can do Jung Hoseok’s DNA fragmenting today. It will be a good test.”

“He’s going to kill him.” Surprisingly, that was Kim that said that. She seemed afraid. And if Kim Jungeun was afraid, you knew something was seriously wrong.

“You guys need to stop being so worried. He’s fine. Look at him.” Jungkook dropped the twisted hunk of metal to the floor and took two strides over to be face to face with Jay.

“How hard would it be to make him talk?”

“Not hard at all. Why?” Jinsol raised an eyebrow and stared in suspicion.

“Hmm.” Jay rubbed the back of his neck, taking a few steps away from Jungkook’s gaze. “I’m just thinking.”

“Whatever you want boss.” Jinsol stood up. “I’ll go get the radio. Kim, come with me. I’ll drop you off at the infirmary.” The two left.

Jungkook backed away from Jay and stared at Yerim instead. She cleared her throat and looked away, letting her long hair cover a majority of her face.

“Do what I asked,” Jay demanded with a wave of his hand. “I’ll be back.”

Then there were two.

Yerim looked up again to see Jungkook still staring at her and went back to looking at her sneakers. She could feel her face turning red. Why was she nervous around him now?

She felt a hand on her shoulder and a small squeak escaped her mouth. Yerim fell out of her chair and to the floor in surprise.

Jungkook continued to stare with a confused expression on his face, eyes squinting. Yerim had to admit, it made it look very cute. He crouched down next to her and offered a hand. She was wary. He wasn’t supposed to help, or have any sort of emotion, but yet here he was.

Yerim was surprised that his hand wasn’t the equivalent of sticking her hand in an oven. He felt warm, like a blanket wrapped around two people. It was nice.

Jungkook pointed to the counter when they were both back on their feet. Yerim cleared her throat again. “Uh yeah. Of course.” Jungkook followed her over and sat down in the chair he previously had sat in. Yerim had a nervous feeling in her chest. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to be a part of this anymore.

“Jung-, I mean, Torch,” her nose scrunched up in disgust because honestly, it was stupid to call him that, “I know you can’t reply but I’m just going to talk to you anyways.” She was removing the smeared black off his face with a warm cloth and Jungkook had his eyes closed. He looked peaceful. Yerim wasn’t sure if that was good. “I’m starting to question my place here. I’ve been here for a while, and I’ve trusted Jay and everything, but I don’t know. You were a good person, and now...” she trailed off, not wanting to be the result of an oncoming flood of memories that would cause something extremely bad to happen.

Jungkook’s eyes shot open. He pointed to the hair gel resting on the counter.

Yerim matched him with an eye roll. “I’m getting to it, jeez. Hold on.” She exchanged the washcloth for the gel and went to work taming his wild hair. He let air escape his lips.

“You’re a weird one. And you don’t even realize what’s going on.” Yerim shook her head sadly. Jungkook shrugged.

Jinsol beat Jay to the room. She carried a tiny earpiece in her hand and slammed it down on the counter before leaning against it. Eyes wandered to Jungkook, who was now having dark makeup applied to his demon eyes. They were extremely freaky, she decided.

“I don’t feel good about this, Yerim.”

“I don’t feel good about this either.” She placed the brush gently down on the counter and placed both hands on her hips. “Jay is in over his head here.”

“Do you think his clan is going to come over here? Try and get their people?”

“I know one of their own escaped. She probably went back home if I had to guess. So I’m going to go with yes.” Yerim exhaled loudly and pushed her hair out of her face, leaving a black streak across her forehead. Jungkook tugged on her arm and pointed to his forehead. Jinsol watched curiously as she rubbed the makeup off her face.

“Why is he being helpful?”

Yerim shrugged. “I asked myself the same question. You did the programming, not me.”

She murmured, “That doesn’t seem right. I didn’t, I should have made sure...”

“I don’t think I want to do this anymore.”

“I don’t blame you.” Jinsol rubbed at her eyes and made a move to speak, but was interrupted by Jay’s loud entrance.

“Things going good guys?” he asked as he came to examine Jungkook. Jay smiled, obviously satisfied. “Very good, Yerim.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this,” Jinsol started, but Jay blew her off with an eye roll.

“Don’t start this shit. It’s happening, with or without you. I can throw you in a cell just as easily as the rest of them.”

She bit her lip to avoid responding with a snarky ass comment.

Jay tugged on Jungkook’s arm and he stood up. “Come on team, we have matters to attend to.” Jay began walking, but nobody was following him. Not even Jungkook. He swiveled back around with annoyance in his step.

Jungkook looked down at Yerim before sliding his hand into hers. She almost gasped in shock. Jay threw a fit.

“Why is he DOING THAT?” He was yelling loudly, causing Jinsol to shrink on the spot.

“I don’t know sir, he’s not supposed to be doing that, I made sure-”

“I don’t fucking care what you made sure of, fucking fix it before I have him kill you.”

“Yes sir.” She swallowed loudly before closing her eyes. Jungkook tore his hand away in seconds, stumbling backward. One hand raised to his head as pain flashed across his face.

“What are you doing to him?” Hysteria was creeping into Yerim’s voice in a panicked flurry. She tried to move closer to him but Jay was shoving her away.

“Don’t go near him. You are both ruining everything. He isn’t supposed to feel, he’s a fucking weapon. Let him do his job.”

Jungkook had found his stability. He stood up straight, eyes even deader than they had been before.

Yerim wanted to cry.

“Now I would suggest you follow my instructions clearly before I have you both thrown in a cell and tortured. Jinsol, give him his fucking radio.”

“Y-Yes, sir.” She tossed the small earpiece in Jungkook’s direction who caught it with one hand. He placed it in his ear. Jay raised a hand to his own.

“Can you hear me?”

Jungkook nodded. Jay responded with an evil grin.

“Fantastic. Let’s carry on then. Torch, if you would do the honors.” Jungkook began making his way down the hallway, Jay following proudly while the other two followed with great fear. They didn’t want to see what Jungkook was about to do. Knowing they had been a part of this made them sick to their stomachs.

The three of them hung back around the corner while Jungkook continued to Hoseok’s cell. Hoseok was asleep when Jungkook arrived; he kept fidgeting in his sleep like he was having a nightmare.

“Ok,” Jay’s voice crackled over the radio, “In your pocket, you’ll find a small glass side and a pocket knife. Take whatever you need and don’t be afraid to have a little fun. He’s a bad man. The code is 54678.”

Jungkook inputted the code, causing Hoseok to jolt awake. He looked around in a panic, sighing with relief once he saw Jungkook, but it didn’t last long.

“Jungkook? What happened? Why are you-” he stopped talking when Jungkook’s hands lit up in flames. His dark eyes glowed orange with heat. “Oh my god. No. Nononononononono. Jungkook, NO!” He ignored Hoseok’s pleads and moved closer until he had him cornered. One of his hands gripped Hoseok’s arm, which set fire to his jacket. His screams increased in volume once the flames reached his skin.

“YOU BASTARDS!” He yelled as loudly as he could, tears streaming down his face. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?”

Jungkook grinned, evil filling his eyes. He extinguished the flames and slid the knife out of his pocket. Hoseok was still screaming at his touch and the now blackened blisters forming on his right arm. Jungkook began cutting and slicing the skin off.

The neighbors of nearby cells watched with wide eyes, hands gripping the bars tightly. They look terrified.

“This is what you have to look forward to!” Jay shouted with a small giggle following. He spun in a circle in the middle of the hallway. “We were successful! Look what we made, you fuckers! You are all going to die, suffer, and this is why.”

Jungkook hadn’t even batted an eyelash at causing Hoseok, someone he called his friend, pain. Hoseok was pleading, sobbing, screaming, and Jungkook simply didn’t care. He was doing his job.

Once he was satisfied, he shoved Hoseok’s body to the side. Hoseok immediately puked out what little he had of food and a shitton of stomach acid, still screaming and sobbing. Jungkook closed the cell door and gave what DNA he had gathered to Jay. Jay cackled again.

“You’re beautiful, so goddamn beautiful.”

Yerim and Jinsol watched in horror. Yerim wanted to puke herself.

“This is so bad,” she whispered, fear lacing her words thickly. Jinsol shook her head in agreement.

It was several times worse than bad.

They had truly created a monster.

\---

“He’s evil, through and through,” Jay chuckled happily as he rubbed his palms together. “I can’t believe we did that. I made him. Our weapon. We are going to change the world.”

Jungkook was outside patrolling the building right now. Jay had thought about letting him go take more people, but Jungkook wasn’t ready for that. He had just been born today, technically.

Jay was talking to Kim, who seemed more okay with the idea of Jungkook being a weapon than Yerim or Jinsol. At least, that’s what she seemed to express to Jay.

Kim scoffed. “You can’t take all the credit. I am the one who labored for two days straight. That’s a lot of radioactivity.”

“Of course. It wouldn’t have been a success without you.” Jay smiled. He felt so free today, (which in retrospect was pretty fucked up). “We need to make sure every single person in this facility sees him. They need to know.”

“How do you even know if he’s going to do what you ask if he’s mute?”

“I have a good feeling. I, we, are his masters, his creators, of course. He has to do what we say.”

“You’re telling me I can boss him around too?”

“Be my guest.”

“I like you, Jay.” Kim smiled before raising her non-broken hand to her ear. “Kim requesting radio transmission to Jeon.” Jay shot her a look and Kim rolled her eyes. “Excuse me, Torch. Thank you. Look, I’m gonna need you to meet me in cell block D.” Kim clicked off with a satisfied sigh. “He better listen.”

“Oh, he will. And you better go, he’s already there.”

“Right. Speed.” she muttered under her breath before standing up. She waved goodbye and made her way down the hallway.

Jungkook was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed when Kim arrived. He stood up straight when he noticed her arrival.

“Good to see you. You’re going to help me today. We are going to have some fun.” Jungkook nodded his head and followed her down the hallway. People stared at the two of them in fear. They stopped when they stood right outside an empty cell.

Chae’s old cell.

Kim turned towards Jimin, who was cowering against the inside wall. He had his hands pulled up to his chest and his breathing was shallow.

Jimin was soaked head to toe in blood.

“This is label 27-F: Park Jimin. You’ve met him before. Anyways, he’s kind of an asshole, so I want you to hurt him.”

Jungkook’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t notice.

Jimin looked up at the noise of his cell opening. His eyes widened when he noticed who it was. Immediately they turned icy blue.

Jungkook’s fists exploded with flames, and Jimin’s face filled with fear. He moved quickly to the back wall of the cell. Jungkook followed him.

“Get him good,” Kim called from outside his cell.

Jimin shook his head, kept mouthing  _ no _ , but Jungkook didn’t seem to notice. And he couldn’t say anything back to him of course.

Jimin’s screams echoed throughout the entire hallway.


	19. 019

"I can’t do this anymore,” Yerim exclaimed as she flopped down onto her bed. She tore the earpiece out and tossed it across the room, watching as it bounced off the wall and disappeared under a chair. Jinsol sighed as she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. “I didn’t know, I didn’t fucking understand,” she paused to blow hair out of her face, “that was his friend, Jinsol! He melted his friend's skin off! Who the fuck does that? We helped do that to him! I can’t do this.” Yerim shuddered, that stupid feeling she was about to cry creeping into her throat.

“What do you suggest we do? If we even try and defy Jay, we are going to be thrown into cells of our own.” She slid her earpiece into her pocket.

“We are supposed to be telling Jungkook what to do. We are supposed to continuously be around him and I don’t know how much more of this heartless shit I can take. You need to do something.”

“I can’t do anything! Jay’s going to know. I can’t change any of this.”

“Can’t you talk to him? Jungkook could pretend. He could get out, and we could say he wouldn’t listen to us. We could lie.”

“We wouldn’t get away with it. Jay is evil, we all know that. But Yerim, we agreed to do this.”

“That was before I figured out what he was planning on using Jungkook for!” she choked down a sob. “God, he was a human! Nothing but your ordinary human. Jay would tell us about him and he sounded so fascinating. He had a life, friends, and we helped turn him into this monster! He doesn’t deserve that! Not at all. We have to do something.”

“I know we do, and trust me, I don’t agree with this either. We got involved in something we didn’t know much about. But even if I did do anything, he’s going to have to get used to everything new. He can’t go back. So what?”

She was quiet for a brief moment before an idea came into her head. It was risky, but it might work. “What if we went and talked to his clan?”

Jinsol’s mouth dropped. “Are you crazy?”

“They’re most likely planning to come here and save their people. I’d be damned if I didn’t think they would rescue everyone else trapped in this place. I used to be able to just hurt people, and now, I can’t even fathom...” her voice trailed off as Jinsol sighed again.

“So what’s your plan? We go give them inside information? How are we going to introduce ourselves? Hey, what up, I’m Jinsol, I helped break in and kidnap your people and I helped turn your friend into a monster! Trust me!”

“We will explain as best as we possibly can. Apologize. Tell them everything we know. We have to do this, Jinsol, we have to try and help them. Maybe Jungkook’s boyfriend can help him snap out of it. You can help too. I know you can.”

“The longer he has no feelings, the harder it’s going to be for me to change things.” Jinsol rubbed her neck in regret. “We might be too late as it is. He’s been that way for a few days now. We’ve seen what he’s been doing. The guy doesn’t care.”

“We did that to him.” Yerim bunched her blanket up in her hands. “I’m going, with or without you.”

“I’m going with you. I’m just as guilty. Besides, I had a lot more to do with it than you did. The only crime you committed with Jungkook was his terrible haircut.”

She rolled her eyes and wiped the smearing makeup out from under them. “We gotta go when the right time presents itself. They need to know as soon as possible.”

“So in other words, we are going to casually stroll right up to their front doorstep and knock! Don’t worry, we aren’t here to kill you!”

“Stop it. They’ll understand.”

“Or they’ll kill us right on the spot. For Christ’s sake, one of their people had not only his tongue cut out, but his hand sliced off. None of our coworkers are the best people, Yerim. We are pretty horrible as well.”

“We’ll explain! That’s all we can do. We just gotta hope.”

She exhaled loudly. “Okay, okay. Then we’ll leave as soon as possible. You’ll meet me at the far left exit at midnight. I’ll put whoever is on patrol in a daze while you unlock the door and slip out.”

Yerim nodded. “Okay, that sounds good. And we will be back before morning. Nobody will even know. It’s all good.”

“Risky, but good.”

\---

“I can’t get a read on Jungkook anymore,” Jin was in a panic as he burst into Yoongi’s office. It was getting to be extremely close to when they were preparing to leave, and everyone was in a frenzy. Yoongi had spent the past couple of days looking at the map Jin had spent weeks working on.

He looked up from said map with a frown. “What are you talking about?”

“Exactly what I said. I can’t get anything from him. It’s like he doesn’t even have emotions. But that… that can’t happen to a person, can it? Unless...” his eyes widened. “Unless they did something to him.”

“You can’t just remove emotions from someone,” Yoongi replied with a scoff. Eyes wandered back down to the map. He placed a finger to his lips, his other hand circling a possible back entrance. 

“I can’t read emotions on someone dead.”

“Don’t say that. He’s not...” Yoongi hesitated, twisting his fingers together. His voice came out in a whisper. “dead.”

“I know we are trying to stay positive on this, but we are heading out in like three days and we might need to accept the facts that not everyone is going to be in good condition.”

“Well obviously. But no one wants to think about it.” Yoongi tilted his head slightly, one hand twitching in his lap. He raised it to his throat. “Who do you think would be good in a group together?”

“Don’t change the subject.” Jin was stern. “You’re going to need to know you won’t be able to save everyone.”

“I know perfectly well I won’t be able to. But look, besides fighting we are going to have to let all these people out and figure out if they have a clan or need one. Because they can come here. There is plenty of room.”

“We can have someone ready to start leading the others away.”

“Yeah. That’s good. Chae and Jennie maybe. I’m going after Jay.”

“You can’t go after him yourself.”

“I’ll bring others with me. But I call him. He’s dead.” Yoongi squeezed a fist, eyes focusing on a set of tally marks carved into the wall. “You’re going to have to be careful around me because I’m going to be spending most of the time as the other guy. I need to be strong.”

“You are strong. You aren’t considering just killing everyone you see, are you?”

“So what if I am?”

“Dude.” Jin sighed. “You can’t just-”

“I think they have a pretty good reason to die. Besides, I can’t do much by myself anyway. What am I going to do? Bring flowers back to life?”

“Well I mean you are pretty strong Yoongi. Physically.”

“That doesn’t matter. I need to be stronger. Every single one of those people that hurt someone, dead. They’re dead. I don’t care what you or anyone says. This ends now.”

“Is this about Jungkook?” asked Jin softly. Yoongi shot him a look that screamed ‘I’m going to kill you.’

“Why are you assuming this is about Jungkook?”

“Well, I mean, he’s not going to be the same person. You know that much at least, right?”

Instead of answering, Yoongi picked up a pen and began rolling it between his fingers. He raised it to his lips and bit down on the cap.

“For all we know he could be locked in a cell with the rest of the humans. But the chances of him being himself is very unlikely. He’s going to be somewhat different. Traumatized maybe. Not wanting to talk for a few days. Wanting to hide away.”

“I’m sure most people are going to feel that way.” The pen dropped back down onto the desk and Yoongi leaned forward on his elbows. “I think I want you to stay outside. You’re going to need to do everything you can for Jimin and anyone else that’s injured.”

“I can’t grow back any limbs,” Jin said solemnly. He raked fingers through his hair. “But I’ll do the best I can.”

“How are we even going to find them? This place is huge.” Yoongi pushed against the back of his chair. “This is going to be a mess.”

“Yeah, they have the upper hand. But we-” Jin’s sentence was cut short as Chae appeared in the room, eyes wide and hair a mess. She cleared her throat.

“Intruders,” She managed to spit out. Her breathing was irregular. “Two girls. We put them in the holding room, but I don’t know what they are doing. They asked for you.” Chae pointed to Yoongi, who placed a hand on his chest.

“Well, that’s new,” he muttered as he stood up. Jin followed and the three of them went upstairs and down the hallway, to the little room Tae had put cracks in so long ago. Inside sat two short girls, one with purple hair and one blonde, both secured to chairs. The purple-haired one was grinning.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. Min.”

Yoongi narrowed his eyes and waved a hand behind him. Chae disappeared immediately while Jin hung back, looking wary.

“I’ll be fine,” Yoongi promised. He waved his hand again, and with a shaky sigh, Jin closed the door. Yoongi swung back around to face the purple-haired girl, who was still smirking. The blonde girl looked worried.

“Okay, start talking before things get bad.” Yoongi cracked his knuckles, trying to be intimidating, but if he was being completely honest with himself, he was just as worried.

“My name is Yerim and this is Jinsol. We uhm, work for Jay.” her voice got significantly quieter at the end of the sentence and Yoongi’s eyes lit up in surprise. He clenched a fist, anger starting to bubble in his chest. These were the people hurting his friends, his family.

The people hurting Jungkook.

“But look, we fucked up. He helped us get better, invited us into his home, and in exchange, we had to work. We didn’t realize then what he was truly doing.” Jinsol added, trying to pull up on her restraints. She seemed nervous now that it was blatantly obvious Yoongi was pissed with the news.

“But we want to help you guys. We want to do everything we can to make sure Jay gets stopped. He’s out of control.” Yerim looked at the ground, not wanting to meet Yoongi’s eyes. She looked extremely guilty.

“How can I trust you guys? I mean, you knew where we lived. So that’s already one shady thing.”

“We know where all your people are. We have access to the codes to get into their cells and the building. We know where Jay will be, where all the patrols will be, where the humans are. We know everything.” Jinsol looked right at Yoongi, eyes hopeful Yoongi would agree to work with them. “My powers can be helpful too.”

“Mine as well. Please, Mr. Min, you gotta trust us here. We are throwing our lives on the line. If Jay finds out, we are dead.”

Yoongi sighed loudly. “One, stop calling me that. Call me Yoongi. Two, I just-”

“Please Yoongi, please. Jungkook, things aren’t looking good for him.” Yerim was starting to cry. She looked broken, which got Yoongi to sigh again and bite his lip.

“What’s going on with Jungkook?” He prepared to have his heart sink. Please let him be alive.

“Jay is fucking psycho,” Jinsol shook her head. “He wanted Jungkook so badly for this and wouldn’t let it be anyone else.”

Yoongi moved over, his hand gripping Jinsol’s arm as he leaned closer. “Tell me what the fuck is going on with Jungkook.”

“He turned him into one of us,” Yerim said quickly, all her words jumbled together. She blinked, trying to get tears out of her eyes.

Yoongi shifted back, crossing his arms once more. His eyes flickered to gold and his hair suddenly faded to blonde, his eye scar seemingly becoming redder. Both Yerim and Jinsol stared in fear. They had heard things weren’t good when his eyes turned gold.

“I want you to tell us every single thing that has happened to Jungkook. Right now. Or we won’t hesitate to kill both of you.”

“Operation Torch,” Jinsol started, glancing between Yerim and Yoongi. Yerim nodded.

“We’ve been trying for years to successfully make a human like us. Years. It happens in phases. Most die after phase one or two. But Jungkook survived both. Phase one is the basics of our species. Hearing and eyesight.”

One of Yoongi’s hands twitched.

“Phase two... Jay was trying to create a soldier. He wanted to turn Jungkook into a soldier. So strength,”

“And speed.” Jinsol finished. Yoongi was standing there, fueled by rage, letting Agust handle all the dirty work. He spontaneously turned around and slammed a fist into the metal wall, right next to a crack Tae had made. The wall was cool when he leaned his forehead against it, eyes draining back to brown and hair back to black. Jungkook was not okay, he was far from okay. Jin was right.

“Phase three,” demanded Yoongi, his teeth gritted. He needed to know every single thing.

“Little stuff,” Yerim started, her eyes focused on Yoongi’s tense stance. “Make him look scary.”

“Dude’s got black eyes. So yeah, he’s a little scary looking.”

Yoongi swiveled back around. His eyes were gold and his hair was bleached again, and he looked ready to strangle someone with bare hands. Neither one of them blamed him. It was his boyfriend after all. “Phase four. Now.”

“That’s where Operation Torch came in,” Jinsol was shooting Yerim worrying looks. “Jay Human Torch’d him.”

“Don’t compare Jungkook’s life with a fucking comic book character.”

She apologized frantically. “Sorry, sorry. Sorry.”

Yerim took over, voice just as frantic. “Jungkook is dead, but he’s not. He’s alive, but he’s not. He’s stuck in a state of limbo, or at least his molecules are. Jay and a girl named Kim Junguen turned him into pure energy. He’s fire.”

“His skin is extremely hot.” Jinsol gestured to the ragged row of blisters that crossed her hand where it had come in contact with Jungkook’s skin. Yoongi looked over, his breaths becoming shorter. They weren’t lying.

“Phase Five...” Jinsol cleared her throat. “Get rid of emotions. Turn him into some sort of robot. He can’t feel anything. He can’t talk. Only obey.”

“He hurt Kim Hoseok. Didn’t even hesitate, just burned his flesh off, and God...” Yerim shook her head. “That’s why we came here. You have to help him. You all need to stop Jay before he does that to everyone. That’s his plan. Supersoldier every human around.”

Yoongi’s eyes and hair were dark again, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t angry anymore. He looked even more furious. He grabbed a fist full of Jinsol’s shirt and leaned in once more so they were an inch apart. “How the fuck do you get rid of someone’s emotions?”

Jinsol gulped, eyes looking everywhere but Yoongi. “Programming. I can-”

That was all Yoongi needed to hear before he was grabbing her by the arm, twisting it so hard it could break. She yelped in pain. 

“You did this to him and you have the fucking nerve to come here?”

“She was only doing what she was asked!” Yerim argued, her own hands clenched into fists as she pulled up. “We are trying to avoid getting killed ourselves Yoongi because Jay is already heartless and he doesn’t care!”

Yoongi let go of Jinsol’s arm and pulled away from her. She gasped, panting at the relief. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” she wheezed. “I want to do everything I can to help him get out. Please. You have to see that I know I fucked up and I want to help.”

“Things are only going to get worse Yoongi, not only for him but for everyone there. We only want to help. Especially help Jungkook.” Yerim looked at him with pleading eyes. “You have to trust us. We will do anything to make up for what we were apart of.”

Yoongi placed both his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. Jungkook was dying, Jungkook was already dead, Jungkook needed help, Jungkook was evil, Jungkook, Jungkook, Jungkook.

_ You can kill them later, Yoongi, but as for now, they are a pretty valuable asset to our team. They can get us inside. You can get Jungkook. _

He was right. But Yoongi still didn’t trust them. They had helped torture and kidnap and kill for years and years, and them just now wanting to help didn’t make them any better.

_ You both have the same enemy. It’s just like us. _

Yoongi let a sigh escape his lips as his hands fell to the sides and his eyes opened. “Okay. Okay, we can work together. But I’m getting Jay all to myself. He’s dead and I’m going to make sure he stays that way.”

“Of course,” Yerim nodded. She pulled again. “Anything. We will do anything you ask.”

Yoongi pulled his knife out of his pocket and sliced through their ties. While they regained feeling in their wrists, Yoongi yanked open the door to pull a still worried Jin inside.

“Check on Jinsol for me, will you? Make sure nothing is broken.” Jin’s eyes narrowed, but he still went over to heal her. Yerim was twisting her hands, her face masked with enough worry for four people. Yoongi gently laid a hand on her shoulder and she flinched, jumping away from him.

“Sorry,” she breathed, but Yoongi only forced a smile.

“No, uh, sorry to scare you. I just, were you, uh...” he awkwardly scratched his chin as he thought of how to phrase his sentence. “Did you spend time with Jungkook?”

“Oh.” her voice was tiny, not wanting to project louder than it had to. “Uh, I was on the ‘study Jungkook committee,’ to see if he was the right candidate. It was dumb really. But besides that, I only spent a couple of days with the real him. And then I, well, Jinsol and I, had to hang around the new him. I was kind of a dick to him I think. I acted too flirtatious, which probably made him uncomfortable. But I would never do a single thing to hurt him, I promise. He’s nice. He was a nice person, he did what he was told, he helped and I’m so sorry.” she was crying again, and Yoongi wrapped his arms around her in comfort. It seemed she didn’t understand what was going on, just got wrapped up in some bad business.

“It’s okay, I understand. Just following orders. We are going to get them back.” Yerim nodded into his shoulder.

“You’re a lot different than Jay made you out to be,” she replied once they had pulled away. “I mean, I didn’t think he was being truthful, but you’re okay. I wish we could have met on different terms.”

“You’re more than welcome to join us if you want. Our group.”

“That’s very nice. Yeah. I’d like that.” Yoongi nodded his head, satisfied.

“We’ll get a meeting going with everyone. It’s late but better than nothing. Get a plan ready. We were leaving in three days, but now...”

“You might want to leave earlier. Jay’s going to get suspicious.”

Yoongi nodded. He held up a finger as if to say ‘One second,’ before casually sidestepping over to Jin.

“Meeting,” he stated simply before gesturing Yerim to follow him out the door. She followed quickly, eyes wandering all around the hallways as Yoongi knocked on doors and yelled for everyone to gather in the dining room. People followed him down.

Yoongi stood patiently at the front with Yerim nervously twisting her fingers next to him (funny, he had the same problem) as everyone filed into the room. Some looked wide awake, others looked heavy with sleep. Jin flashed a reassuring smile as he and Jinsol came into the room. They stood off to the side.

“So uh,” Yoongi started, his face flushing red for no reason. Everyone was staring at him. “This is Yerim and Jinsol.” The two of them gave a quick wave. “They have offered to help us get into the building.”

“What do they know that we don’t?” Kai asked with a raise of his hands. People murmured in agreement.

“They work there. But as double agents. They want to help us take Jay down.”

“We know where your people are,” Yerim added to the convincement, “We can get you into the building.”

“But they think we should leave earlier. Things aren’t going very well.”

“They were successful in their experiments.” That was Jinsol this time. “Jungkook was the first successful super soldier.” A few gasps escaped the crowd.

“He’s not doing good,” Yoongi said sadly, “but that’s why we need to hurry. So I’m thinking maybe tomorrow night. Are we ready for that?”

“Training says so,” said Sooyoung.

“I’ve been ready to kick ass since the day Hobi was captured.” Namjoon spat out, folding his arms across his chest. Others were mumbling, but everyone seemed to agree.

“Okay. Tomorrow night then. We stay in groups. Kai and Gyu, I want you two together. You’ll be responsible for getting Soobin, and letting out as many people as possible.”

“Choi Soobin is in Cell Block A,” Yerim informed. “I can give you the code. That’s my section.”

“Cell Block B has Kang Taehyun, I’m pretty sure. I can get the code.”

“Chaewon and Sooyoung, you are in charge of that. Chae, Jennie, and Jin, I want you to remain outside. Jin’s gotta heal and you both need to help get everyone heading in the right direction.”

“C’s got Im Yeojin, D has Park Jimin and Jung Hoseok. Kim is in charge of D, but I can get the code from her.”

“Tae’s going to want D. Olivia and Namjoon, you go with him. Lisa and Yeonjun can go for C. Jiwoo, you’re with me.”

“What?” She stared in astonishment at Yoongi, who was completely serious.

“We are going after Jay and finding Jungkook. Jungkook is the Human Torch now, and you’re the only person here who can survive that much heat. So you’re with me.”

“Oh. Okay then.” Jiwoo seemed terrified.

“We leave a little after midnight, just like now. We stay in our groups, stay quiet, watch Chae and Jennie.”

“I can knock the patrollers out for a little while and open the doors. Yerim and I will be on the lookout for you guys.”

“Jennie can run out before us, give you the go.” Yoongi nodded towards Jennie who gave him a willing nod.

Everyone stared at Yoongi, waiting for him to say more. It was weird; Yoongi had been the leader for years and this was the first time he felt like he was doing his job. But sadly, the burden of being the leader meant he had to deal with the sad stuff.

“People are probably going to get hurt. We need to accept that not everyone is going to survive, and people will die. People might already be dead.” He was thinking of Jungkook. “That’s a part of this. I’m hoping it’s going to be successful, but we have to face the facts. After, things aren’t going to be the same. We will probably have more people with us, and as a family, we will be stronger. But not all of us will survive, most likely. Jin is going to do his damnedest, but he’s only one person.”

“But you can bring people back to life,” someone shouted from the back. Everyone shushed them.

“And we all saw how great that turned out, didn’t we?” he rolled his eyes. “We will get everyone their radios, turn them on, and figure out channeling tomorrow. As for tonight, we have to be prepared. This is happening.” Yoongi examined his hands. Everyone was still staring at him. “Everyone ready?”

The crowd assured them that they were in fact, ready.

“Good. That’s it then. Tomorrow.” He turned to face Chae. “Will you please escort our guests to the front door?”

“Sure thing boss.” Chae saluted before gently tugging on Jinsol’s arm. She started following right away.

But Yerim paused to give him another hug. “Jungkook is going to be okay,” she whispered in his ear before pulling away and following Chae down the hallway. Yoongi ran fingers through his hair. Jin took a step closer to him.

“You gonna be alright?”

Yoongi shrugged. “I’ll manage. I’m going downstairs. You make sure everyone’s okay, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Jin laid a hand on Yoongi’s shoulder before disappearing into the crowd.

Yoongi was quick to go downstairs. The first thing he did was strip out of his clothes into nothing but basketball shorts, and then he went into a room he hadn’t been inside in quite a while. Not since he had met Jungkook that was.

Electricity flickered when he flipped the switch. Yoongi had spent a lot of time in this room in the early years of living here. He tried working out a lot. It was something that he felt like he was in charge of, not the other guy. So he’d lift weights and run and try and forget who he was.

There was a punching bag in the corner of the room that he used a lot as well. And today, Yoongi felt he could use that.

After wrapping his hands, he took a deep breath and went to work hitting it as hard as he could. Punch after punch, he thought about Jungkook getting tortured, shocked, yelled at, turned, hurt. About Jungkook walking around with no recollection of where he was or how to feel. About Jungkook hurting people and not knowing what he was doing. He thought about himself, about his childhood, about his life in general, his family, friends, Jimin and Taehyung taking care of him, the several times he tried to commit suicide, the people he had killed, the people he was going to kill.

He fuelled all his anger and frustration into his punches, the thought of how nice it would be when he could hit Jay reeling him over the edge.

Nobody, nobody, touched Jungkook and got away with it.

With one last punch, he slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor, pulling his knees up to his chest. Yoongi focused on breathing as he wiped the sweat away. That felt good. It had always felt good, but he had forgotten how nice it was.

Round Two.

  
  



	20. 020

  
  


Nobody wanted to be around him, much less in the same room as him. He was terrifying, always walking around like some metallic piece of machinery, staring with his dead black holes for eyes, hurting people with a grin, feeling nothing out of the ordinary. Everyone avoided him, nobody talked to him unless they had to. Nobody wanted to befriend a monster.

Except Jay maybe, who always wanted to be around him. Wanted to make sure he was doing okay, that his vitals were good, that he wasn’t going to drop down dead at any given point in time. But nope, Jeon Jungkook was far from unhealthy. He was the strongest guy in the facility. The fastest. The smartest.

The cruelest.

Unfortunately, Yerim had to be his chaperone today, and after last night's events, she wasn’t looking forward to it at all. They were on patrol, walking the length of the building to make sure there was no possible way for any intruders. It was a perfect way for Yoongi’s group to get in, she decided. All she had to do was leave one door unlocked.

Yerim wasn’t supposed to talk to Jungkook unless she was giving him an order, but today she was going to do that anyway. After pulling her long hair into a ponytail, she turned up to look at his emotionless face. Nothing but dead eyes, the usual.

“Do you remember Yoongi?”

Jungkook froze in his tracks, eyes widening. It didn’t take long before he was slamming her against the building, one hand curling around her throat. She clawed at his hand, struggling to breathe. He stared at her with narrowed eyes, head tilted slightly. Like he was studying her.

“Jungkook,” she sputtered out, knowing perfectly she wasn’t supposed to call him that. “Can’t...breathe...”

His grip tightened. She was going to die if he didn’t let go soon.

“Jungkook... please!”

He finally let go of her, watching as she slumped to the dirt and coughed loudly. Jungkook didn’t know anyone named Yoongi. Was he supposed to?

“I wish you could speak,” she sighed, leaning her head back against the wall. Her breathing was still ragged.

Jungkook started walking away like nothing happened, going on his way to finishing his job. Yerim let him leave. She couldn’t stand to see him like this, not knowing she helped take part. Not knowing Yoongi was coming to get him and Jungkook didn’t even remember him. Not knowing Jungkook was going to try and kill Yoongi the minute he saw him.

She could make it through the day.

Tonight, everything changed.

\---

11:59 pm.

Yoongi stared at himself in the mirror. Black shirt, black pants, gloved hands, gold eyes, and blonde hair. Brown eyes and black hair. Gold and blonde. Then brown and black again.

He still had it.

He watched himself in the mirror as he pulled a black beanie down over his ears.

Tonight, everything changed.

Everyone was whispering when Yoongi came upstairs. His eyes kept flickering and he kept his hands deep in his pockets, making sure to not accidentally brush anyone. Jin handed him his little radio and he stuck in his ear.

“Channel 2,” stated Jin simply as he messed with his. It made a loud whining sound, causing everyone to cringe.

“Everyone okay?” Yoongi asked, eyes scanning the crowd. Everyone pretty much looked like him, decked out in all black and war paint. Even Tae was ready to go, black smeared under his eyes. Tonight was the night for him. His big moment.

Everyone nodded, and he took a giant breath, taking his time to inhale and exhale through his nose. “Can everyone hear one another?” More nodding.

“What’s the time, Jin?”

“12:05.”

Yoongi grinned. “Let’s go kick some ass.”

The crowd cheered as everyone moved into a single file line down the hallway behind Chae and Jennie. The groups tended to gravitate towards each other, which was good because Yoongi had forgotten to mention that before they left. He looked around for Jiwoo, sighing with relief when he noticed her a little farther down. Truthfully, Yoongi didn’t want anyone to come with him. But if what Yerim and Jinsol said was true, that Jungkook’s skin was too hot to touch, he was going to need someone to carry Jungkook back home.

Jennie ran ahead while the rest walked quietly through the woods. A sliver of moonlight shone through cracks in the foliage. It was beautiful out tonight. Under any other circumstances, Yoongi might have sat down and enjoyed it.

He could tell everyone was on high alert; you could practically smell the tension.

Chae’s voice echoed in his right ear. “We’re getting closer. Jennie, any update for up ahead?”

“I’ve met with Yerim. She’s letting us in through the back right entrance. Hurry, she says. Jinsol has the guards knocked out, but she’s not sure how long she can hold them.”

“They’ll be dead by the time we get to them,” Yoongi muttered into his radio. He started shoving his way to the front to be by Chae.

“You have an approximate distance for us?”

“It’s about a kilometer and a half walk. So maybe three-fourths of a kilometer left?” Chae shuddered. “I never want to see this place ever again after this.”

Yoongi patted her on the shoulder. “You won’t have to.”

Jennie was shifting her weight from one foot to another when the group finally arrived. She could see the building from the trees and was extremely thankful when the rest of the group showed up. Everyone cleared the way for Yoongi to move to the front. He kept his voice low.

“Everybody remembers their groups?” Everyone nodded. “Good. Kai, Gyu, you go first.”

“Yerim has all the codes,” Jennie added. “She’ll give you yours.”

Kai and Beomgyu disappeared through the trees.

“Sooyoung and Chaewon, you go next.” They were the next to leave.

“Lisa and Yeonjun.” Yoongi jabbed a thumb into the trees and they left.

Tae was tugging on Olivia’s arm and waving for Namjoon before gesturing for them to leave. Yoongi grabbed Tae’s arm before he left.

“Be safe, got it?” He nodded, ripping his arm from Yoongi’s grasp and continuing on his way.

Yoongi sighed. “Okay, Chae, Jennie, and Jin, you stay here. Look out for people. Jiwoo, you’re with me. Let’s go." Jin gave Yoongi a solemn nod.

"Please be careful Yoongi. Jungkook is stronger than you now. Remember that."

"Don't worry about me Jin. Worry about all the people you're going to have to help." They both hugged tightly, Jin's hand finding its way onto the small of Yoongi's back.

"Come on Jiwoo," Yoongi ushered her through the woods after saying his goodbyes. A hand went to his ear. "Everyone doing okay?"

"Fantastic!" Kai muttered. It sounded like he had hit someone.

"It's already a mess," Sooyoung chimed in. Someone yelled on her end.

"Wonderful." Yoongi pushed Jiwoo further towards the building. The door was wide open, the guards still slumped on the floor. He could hear yelling coming from within, people scattering all about. Yerim was nowhere to be seen.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Jiwoo whispered as she followed Yoongi through the propped door.

"What gave it away? The screaming or the fighting?" Yerim was supposed to have taken them to where Jungkook was, and now she was gone. So that left Yoongi to aimlessly wander around until he found him.

"Do you want me to be here or am I just the excuse so Jin got off your back about going alone?"

Yoongi scoffed. "Oh come on, I do need you around. Jungkook is hot. You can deal with that kind of stuff."

"Sir."

Yoongi turned around. "What?" Jiwoo shakily raised a finger to point further down the hallway.

There was a group of men coming down, and none of them looked happy.

Yoongi rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, eyes blinking gold. A grin rose to his lips. Finally.

They stormed the two of them. It was five against two, but Jiwoo handled two of them while Yoongi easily killed the three with the palm of his hand. He'd knee them in the stomach and push his hand against their forehead, watching happily as black lines spread throughout their veins with a smile. Jiwoo had knocked one unconscious, she was struggling with the other one when Yoongi reached out and wrapped a hand around his throat. The guy stared with wide eyes, hands grasping at Yoongi's grip as the black lines spread up his neck. One went through his eye. His corpse slid to the floor and Yoongi dusted off his hands in satisfaction. Jiwoo gaped at him in horror as Yoongi's eyes drained back to brown.

"What?"

"You just killed all of them. All of them."

Yoongi pressed his lips together. "Yes. Thanks for the observation. Now come on, we have stuff to do, people to find." He paused to allow Jiwoo to catch up. "And I didn't kill all of them. You knocked one unconscious."

"But Yoongi -"

"They deserve to die!" His voice rose a little too loud, bringing another round of patrollers from around the corner. Yoongi rolled his eyes. “You wanna fight or do you want it over with?”

“Over with,” mumbled Jiwoo as Yoongi made his way through the crowd. Jiwoo followed once every single body laid still on the ground. She gulped, eyes frantically moving in all directions.

A voice crackled over their radio stream. “I found Hoseok.” Tae.

“Jimin’s further down, Tae,” Chae responded with a shaky voice.

“I’ll get Hoseok out to Jin,” Namjoon stated. He didn’t sound happy.

“Has anybody seen Yerim? She was supposed to-” Yoongi’s phrase was cut short by the rumbling of the building. Yoongi gripped the wall behind him, knowing perfectly well what had happened.

“Every last one of them. Dead. EVERY SINGLE ONE!”

The stream was starting to cancel out. Yoongi sighed. He should have known.

“Taehyung, you have to stay calm,” Jin spoke softly, but Tae wasn’t having it.

“Don’t you fucking tell me to stay calm when Jimin is missing his hand and his tongue. He looks like someone out of a horror movie. You KNEW THIS!”

“Tae, please,” Yoongi started, watching a crack run down the hallway. The entire building was going to collapse if he didn’t get control back.

“Fuck you Yoongi, you knew just as much as Jin did. I’m going to murder every single fucker in here!”

“Jimin isn’t the only one who’s hurt Tae!” Namjoon added to the argument. “Hobi’s arm is hurt pretty bad. It’s infected.”

Yoongi knew why.

“Get him to me,” Jin demanded. “Quickly.”

“You’re going to bring the building down, Tae,” Yoongi beckoned for Jiwoo to keep following him as they talked. He killed a couple more people.

“I don’t care. You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Why don’t you get your fucking boyfriend out of the building and shut up? There are other people in here we have to get out.”

“Speaking of which, Cell Block A is cleared. Everyone’s leaving now.” Beomgyu’s voice appeared in the mix.

“Soobin is okay!” Kai said, sounding on the verge of crying with relief. 

“I’m not leaving until every single person is dead.”

Yoongi sighed. “Well, Olivia isn’t going to be able to carry him,” he paused to slam someone’s head into a wall, “without delivering an electric shock. So take one for the team.”

Another crack ran down the hallway.

Tae growled. “Fine, but I’m coming back in.”

“Have you found Jungkook yet?” Jin asked. “Oh, there’s somebody else.”

“That’s Jisoo,” he heard Namjoon say.

“No sign of Jungkook yet, but I have no idea where he is.” Yoongi’s radio cut out, Jin’s reply being replaced with static. He tapped it with his fingers, but static was the only thing still playing. He whipped around to face Jiwoo.

“Is yours working?”

“No. I’m only getting static.”

“Me too.” Yoongi sighed again and kicked the wall in frustration. “Okay, so that was short-lived.”

Jiwoo pointed to the wall, where it said Cell Block B in bright red letters. “Isn’t Taehyun in this one?”

His answer came when a wave of people passed them in the hallway, all making their wall towards the door. In the back were Sooyoung and Chaewon, both their arms draped around Taehyun’s shoulders for support. He attempted a grin.

“Hey, boss.”

“Radio's out,” Sooyoung said before continuing. Chaewon looked at them with concern but didn’t stop.

“So...” Jiwoo drew her word out long, eyes moving between the crowd and Yoongi. Yoongi ran a hand through his hair.

“So we keep moving.”

They ran into two more groups of patrollers as they moved, Jiwoo allowing Yoongi (well, Agust, technically) to do all the work. Still no sign of Jungkook. They had seen other groups of prisoners heading towards the exits, but still not the one person Yoongi was looking for in the first place. He was getting frustrated.

“Maybe he got away?” Jiwoo suggested, but it didn’t make any sense.

“I don’t think he left. It wouldn’t make sense for him to leave.” They turned another corner and pressed against the wall to avoid the crowd making its way down.

“Are we just going to keep heading farther back into the building?”

“Yep.” The closer they got to the back, the fewer people they were running into. Yoongi killed a couple more people, avoiding a few others. Then a siren went off, red lights flashing.

“Well they’re a little late with that,” Jiwoo pointed out with a smile. Yoongi laughed at himself.

“We’re winning.”

And then Yoongi turned another corner to see none other than Jay standing at the end of the hall. He seemed to freeze when he noticed Yoongi standing at the other end.

Yoongi clenched a fist. This was it. The man who had hurt his friends and turned Jungkook into a monster. The man who had single-handedly destroyed his life.

Needless to say, it wasn’t long before Yoongi was switching over to Agust D.

Jiwoo hung back around the corner, eyes wide.

“I’m going to kill you,” he said simply. Jay let out a laugh.

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but you aren’t laying a hand on me.”

“Try and stop me.” He let out a snarl as his footsteps echoed off the walls. Jay’s face looked ominous against the red flashing lights.

“I’ve got my protection, Yoongi, did you forget that?” He was grinning, more malice coursing through his body than it ever had in Yoongi’s.

His pace slowed. No.

“Yoongi, meet Torch.” Jay took a few steps back, that stupid evil grin still on his face as none other than Jungkook appeared next to him. Yoongi’s eyes lost color.

No no no no no.

Jungkook looked dead. There was no other way to describe it. There wasn’t one trace of emotion in his face, his eyes bore right into Yoongi’s soul and his skin gave off some sort of yellowish tint. He looked tanner, Yoongi noted.

But yeah, Jungkook looked like a walking zombie. 

“So I’ll let you kids play.” Jay raised an eyebrow. “Do you fancy a game of hide and go seek?”

“Go fuck yourself,” Yoongi growled. He didn’t move.

“Go ahead and kill him. He has no use to me.” Jungkook nodded his head firmly.

Shit.

Jay waved goodbye. “Guess I’ll see you around? In pieces maybe?” He laughed bitterly before taking off down the hallway. Jungkook continued to stare at Yoongi with a large amount of curiosity. Yoongi wondered if he even still knew who he was.

“This is bad,” Jiwoo whispered loudly. She looked terrified beyond belief.

“Oh thanks, I thought it looked super great.” Yoongi rolled his eyes but didn’t turn around. He didn’t know what Jungkook was going to do. He removed his beanie from his black hair and took a step forward, being cautious. “Haven’t seen you in a while. How have you been?”

No reply. Jungkook only continued to stare.

“They say you’re stronger than me. Faster than me. Probably smarter than me. But I’m not here to hurt you.”

“I don’t think he can talk.”

“Thank you so much for your pointless observations, Jiwoo! Now shut up!” Jiwoo clamped her mouth shut. Yoongi took a couple more steps forward.

“I know you’re in there somewhere, Jungkook, please. We can go home. It’s going to be okay.”

Jungkook growled. His hands lit up in flames.

Yoongi blinked, his heart suddenly beating a mile a minute. Jungkook was made of fire. Right.

Dear God.

Jungkook was made of fire.

“Okay, so you don’t like me calling you Jungkook!” Yoongi noted, raising his hands in defense. He stepped back while Jungkook stepped forward. He growled, sending a huge wave of flames Yoongi’s way. Yoongi threw himself out of the way, his head hitting the wall on the way down. He rubbed it with a groan, noting Jiwoo was still staring at him in worry.

Jungkook wasn’t done. He repeated his same action, and once again Yoongi had to roll out of the way.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Jungkook! Please! I’m here to help!” He wasn’t listening. Yoongi pulled himself up off the floor. He didn’t want to touch Jungkook, just in case there was that chance Jungkook would drop to the floor dead instantly, but it looked like that might be his only chance at not dying.

“He doesn’t like it when you call him that!” Jiwoo shouted as Yoongi dodged another wave of fire.

“Once again, thank you Jiwoo!” he muttered. Jungkook dropped the flame for a second, allowing Yoongi to move in close enough to punch him in the face. Except, Jungkook easily caught Yoongi’s fist, crumpling it and flipping him over with enough force to knock the wind out of him. Yoongi stared at the ceiling, trying to catch his breath. That had hurt. Jinsol was right, his skin was hot. But in other news, Jungkook wasn’t going to die if Yoongi touched him since he technically was already dead. But then that meant somebody else could touch him too. That was going to be the last resort.

Yoongi popped back upright as Jungkook went to throw a punch of his own. Yoongi ducked, swiveling back behind him to counter his next move.

But his next move was simply grabbing hold of Yoongi’s wrist.

It was like he had put his hand on a stovetop burner. He swore he could smell burning flesh. And was that him screaming? He wasn’t sure.

Guess the last resort was now.

He allowed Agust to take over. The pain didn’t bother him as his hair turned blonde. With a smirk, he used his other hand to uppercut Jungkook directly in the face. Jungkook stumbled backward, a hand raising to his now purpling jaw. Guess the new Jungkook wasn’t accustomed to pain.

“Come on man, you don’t have to do this!” Jungkook swung again, managing to hit him in the head. Yoongi shook it off, but two seconds later Jungkook was behind him using a fist to slam him against the wall. Yoongi coughed loudly.

All the color in his eyes drained slowly as Jungkook wrapped a hand around his throat. He was starting to see black spots cloud his vision.

Jungkook lifted him higher, Yoongi’s toes barely brushing the floor. His face was turning blue.

“Please Jungkook,” he sputtered out between what little gasps of air he was getting. “Don’t do this!”

Jungkook was grinning.

“It’s Yoongi, do you remember Yoongi? Do you remember me?” Yoongi wasn’t sure if he was going to die, but it sure felt that way.

He caught Jiwoo’s eye. Jiwoo pointed, but Yoongi shook his head. This was his problem to deal with.

“We’re friends Jungkook, good friends. You helped me with my problems, remember?” Yoongi tried to pull away at Jungkook’s tight grip, but Jungkook wasn’t letting up. His grip seemed to be getting tighter. “You gotta let me help you with yours. Please Jungkook.”

He wasn’t letting go. Yoongi could feel his eyelids fluttering. His lungs felt like they were about to explode. You could only go three minutes without oxygen, right? Had it been three minutes yet?

“Please Jungkook. I love you. I love you so much. You can’t-” Yoongi couldn’t finish his sentence.

Jungkook stared at Yoongi’s limp form in his hand, blinking a few times before he dropped him on the floor. His back hit the other wall as Yoongi fell to his hands and knees, coughing loudly.

Where was he? Who were these people? What was going on?

Jiwoo kicked Jungkook in the head as hard as she could, sending him tumbling to the floor and knocking him unconscious. Yoongi looked up from the ground, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He stared at Jiwoo in amazement.

“Uh, thanks.” his voice was raw.

Jiwoo shoved her hands in her pockets and shrugged. “No problem. Are you, uhm, okay?” Yoongi shifted to lean back against the cool brick of the wall. He closed his eyes.

“Yeah. I’m good.”

“Guess he took your breath away, huh?” Jiwoo was grinning while Yoongi narrowed his eyes at her.

“I’m going to kill you.”

Jiwoo laughed loudly. “Sorry, I had to. So uh, do you want me to take him to Jin or...”

“Go look for Jinsol. She’s supposed to fix the wiring in Jungkook’s head. He should be out with Jin. And careful. He’s hot.”

Jiwoo nodded before hoisting Jungkook’s arm over her shoulder, faltering a bit before getting a good grip on him. “Oh yeah, he’s extremely warm. He could cook a pizza with his bare hands.” Her eyes fell to the burn wrapped around Yoongi’s wrist. It looked bad. “You’re going to want to get that fixed. It’s going to get infected.”

“I will, don’t worry. But there’s stuff I have to do first.”

“Be careful.”

Yoongi nodded. He waited for Jiwoo to leave before standing up and moving down the hallway Jay had fled.

It turned out, Jay hadn’t gone very far. His face was red with embarrassment when he noticed Yoongi standing opposite of him.

“So he didn’t have the guts to kill you.” Jay sighed. “I should have known. He was a failure.”

“He got pretty damn close,” Yoongi argued. “So congratulations on being a dick.”

“We were going to change the world Yoongi. Change everything. Make the planet a better place.”

“The human race was here long before we were. You can’t change one species into another.”

“But we did. The point is that we did. And if everyone is the same, there’s no war. No arguments. No theft. No murder. Everything is perfect.”

“Things don’t work like that. You of all people should know that.”

Jay frowned. “You are an annoying little brat Yoongi, and if you want someone done, guess you gotta do it yourself.”

The next thing he knew, Yoongi was standing at the top of a mountain, the wind blowing all around him. It was dark outside, the air covered in a haze of smoke. There was a body at his feet. He crouched down and let out a small gasp.

Jungkook.

His body was mangled, blood and organs seeping out through a slash in his abdomen. His big doe eyes were wide open, filled with shock and betrayal. Yoongi could feel tears sliding down his face.

Then there was another Jungkook. And another. And another.

Until the entire mountain was made up of cloned Jungkook corpses.

Yoongi fell to his knees. He was a failure. He had failed. Jungkook was dead and it was his fault.

_ It’s not real Yoongi. _

“Huh?” he said out loud, his voice disappearing into the wind.

_ It’s an illusion. This stuff doesn’t affect me. Snap out of it. He’s going to kill you. _

“It’s not real,” he repeated, the mountain of corpses fading away to the familiar grey hallway of the prison. Jay had a gun.

He gasped loudly and took a few steps back when he realized Yoongi was no longer in his hallucination. Yoongi himself grinned, letting Agust take over. This was over.

“How did you do that? Nobody can do that.” Jay was in a panic. He steadied the gun as best as he could.

“Think you forgot about me.”

Jay pulled the trigger the minute Yoongi stepped forward. The bullet hit him in the shoulder.

“That wasn’t very nice of you.” he rolled his shoulders and continued walking, blood starting to seep into the fabric of his shirt. Jay swallowed loudly, his hands shaking. He pulled the trigger again. This bullet grazed Yoongi’s side.

He kept walking.

Jay dropped the gun, his entire body shaking a mile a minute. “What are you?” he whispered in fear. His feet twisted and he stumbled backward, one hand grasping the wall for support.

“What am I?” he scoffed. “You hurt my friends. You hurt my kind. You changed the one I love into a monster. You ruined my life. You ruined everyone’s life. So what am I?” Yoongi came face to face with Jay, and with a wicked smile, shoved a knife into his stomach. Blood bubbled out of Jay’s mouth. “I’m your worst nightmare.”

His palm grasped Jay’s forehead, black lines traveling the length of his face until Jay’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he dropped to the floor dead.

Yoongi let out a rush of air, collapsing to the wall. The knife slipped from his fingers and landed on the ground with a clatter, right next to Jay’s face.

He took a moment to collect himself. The pain was searing through his body everywhere, even the burn which before had been replaced with adrenaline. Jesus Christ, he had been shot twice! This was something out of an action movie, and frankly, Yoongi didn’t want any part in that.

He used the wall as support as he made his way down the hallway. The sirens had stopped going off, but people were still screaming and frantically running around. Yoongi wondered how many evil sons of bitches needed to be killed.

This whole building needed to be destroyed.

He had remembered seeing a boiler room somewhere. Maybe if he got to that, he could figure out a way to blow the place up. Cut a gas line maybe. Yoongi wasn’t quite sure what to do, but he could figure that out once he got there.

If he didn’t bleed out first.

Blood was soaking every inch of his shirt, running down his arms and stomach. It was sticky and warm, and he swore the bullet was still lodged in his shoulder. This must be what hell feels like: dying without being dead.

_ Oh, quit complaining. We killed Jay. We have Jungkook back. We won. _

Yoongi scoffed loudly, ending it with a grimace. He paused to pull away at his shirt collar, hissing when it stuck to his bare skin. It looked bad. It looked very bad. “I got shot. Twice. And I have a third-degree burn on my wrist, so I think I’m more than obliged to complain for once.”

Agust didn’t reply.

Yoongi didn’t know where he was or where he was supposed to go, and he was already starting to slow down. Great, now he was the one that would be holding the team up. Maybe it would be good if Yoongi died here. The whole, “the captain goes down with the ship” kind of ordeal. He’d be okay with a death like this. Jungkook was okay, he was healthy, and that was all that mattered. They had won.

“Yoongi?”

He looked up to see Yerim staring at him with wide eyes, a giant cut slashed across her cheek. It was already starting to scab. Her hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail and she had dirt under her nails. He let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh thank god.” He stopped moving, pain shooting another round throughout his body. His legs weren’t willing to move anymore.

“What happened?” She rushed over to him in seconds, throwing an arm over his shoulders to stop him from collapsing. Yoongi winced.

“Jay’s dead,” he muttered, teeth grinding against each other as he focused on moving down the hallway by putting all his weight on her.

Yerim grinned. “That’s wonderful news. But you’re bleeding. Badly.”

“Mmhm, I got shot. Twice.”

Yerim stumbled in her step, causing Yoongi to bump his injured side against her. He hissed in pain.

“Sorry! Wait, did Jay have a gun?” her eyes wandered to Yoongi’s extremely badly burned wrist. “Oh no. You saw Jungkook, didn’t you? You didn’t kill him?”

“Course not, he’d kill me before I’d ever do that. I got hurt, is all. But look, we got to blow this place up. Get rid of all the data and results and whatever else. We can’t let anything get out.”

Yerim stopped, jerking Yoongi back. He cursed under his breath.

“Sorry. But were you going to sacrifice yourself?”

Yoongi shrugged, immediately regretting it. “Captain goes down with the ship.”

“Oh no Yoongi, you can’t do that. Jungkook needs you.”

“Jungkook doesn’t need me. He’s a talent now; he can take care of himself.”

“No, he most certainly needs you. He loves you. And you love him. And that’s something that doesn’t happen a lot of times you know.” She tightened her grip around Yoongi’s shoulders, shivering when she felt his blood creeping under her fingernails. Yerim pulled him down a different hallway.

“I’m not good for him.”

“You’re the best damn thing that’s ever happened to him. Trust me. I had to study his every move, every motion, every thought, for months.”

Yoongi opened his mouth to argue, but nothing came out.

“I swear, you two act like middle school girls.”

“We do not.”

“See? You’re doing it right now.” she shook her head. “But if you want it so badly, I’ll take you to the maintenance room.”

“Thank you.”

But Yoongi didn’t find himself in the maintenance room. He found himself being shoved out the front door into Jin’s arms, his body aching all over. Yerim gave him a sad smile.

“What are you doing?” He struggled to get up, but he couldn’t move his body at all. It was like he was frozen on the spot.

“I was involved in this Yoongi. I was Jay’s right-hand man. I’m the one that has to end this.”

“No.”

She pointed at Jin. “Get your people as far away from this place as possible. And don’t make Yoongi walk. He’s severely injured.”

Jin nodded, scooping Yoongi’s broken body into his hands with ease. Yoongi started screaming like a maniac, but he still couldn’t move around.

“You can’t do this Yerim! You can’t do this!”

“Captain goes down with the ship!” She shook her head, another smile rising to her lips. A genuine one. “It was nice to meet you, Min Yoongi.”

Then she was closing the door to the building, and everyone was moving back into the woods. Yoongi was still screaming, body writhing now that he could move, pain shooting through every individual cell in his body and tears streaming down his face. Jin clutched him to his chest tightly, soothing him, but Yoongi wasn’t having it.

There was an explosion behind them.

It lit the sky up, orange hazy light soaking the trees in scarlet. Everyone could feel the heat on their skin.

Yoongi’s screaming got louder.


	21. 021

“Jungkookie!” someone poked his cheek, and he rolled over with a groan. He never got enough sleep before someone was waking him up. Every freaking time.

“I don’t want to go to school, Mom,” he mumbled into his pillow, pulling the comforter over his head. That someone ripped it off of him completely.

Jungkook sat up.

That, someone, was Yoongi.

His breathing quickened. He was back in his room, but he knew he had left. He remembered leaving. He remembered getting taken. How did he end up back here?

People were talking loudly outside his door and it was pounding in his ears. Birds were chirping way too loudly. The lights were too bright. His eyes were doing weird things. He felt too warm.

“Don’t freak out,” Yoongi whispered, throwing his hands out in front of him. Jungkook was confused. He didn’t like this, not being able to remember what had happened.

The blanket he was clutching in his hand was going up in smoke.

Jungkook flung it across the room, scooting to the top of his bed. He pulled his knees to his chest.

“Dude, you gotta calm down. You’re going to set this place on fire.”

“What?” Jungkook stared at him in confusion and fear. He didn’t understand what he meant by that.

Yoongi only sighed. “Jinsol told me this might happen.”

“Who is that?”

“You got kidnapped, Jungkook. Jay was doing experiments on you. Do you remember?”

Jungkook looked down at his hands. They were calloused, nothing unusual. The black scars still ran up his arm. He was also in nothing but his underwear.

“I remember some stuff...” Jungkook met Yoongi’s worried expression. “There was a girl named Yerim. Where is she at?”

“She uh, left.” he was wringing his hands, distraught briefly filling his face.

“Jay wanted to turn me into some sort of weapon. I remember that.” Jungkook blinked. “He wasn’t successful, was he?”

Yoongi rubbed the back of his neck, muttering under his breath when he realized there was now smeared paint back there. “Uhm, he was.”

Jungkook’s voice came out small and broken. “What?”

“You aren’t human anymore Jungkook. You’re like us. Well, not exactly. You’re probably more advanced than us.”

“What?”

“Stronger, faster, better eyesight, better hearing. That kind of stuff. But you’ve got like three powers into one. You’re ridiculously strong Jungkook.” he shuddered. “Fast too. But the biggest thing probably is the fire.”

“Fire?” Jungkook’s voice cracked.

“You’re both dead and alive at the same time. Pure energy basically. Which is the only reason I can touch you. So, I mean, it’s not terrible.” Yoongi flashed a reassuring smile. “But yeah. You’re pretty much heat. Your body is really hot. Temperature-wise I mean.” his face turned bright red. “You gotta be careful what you touch.”

“Are you saying that...” Jungkook couldn’t even finish. There was no way this could be true. This had to be a dream. He pushed himself off his bed and shuffled into the bathroom, almost fainting when he caught sight of himself in the mirror. Yoongi appeared in the doorway, leaning against the framework.

“Forgot to mention that.”

“Oh my God,” he whispered, leaning forward on his elbows. He pulled down on the skin around his left eye in pure horror. He looked like a freak. 

He whipped back around to face Yoongi. “What am I?”

“Exactly what I told you. Look, it’s not ideal, and I’m so sorry this happened to you, but we have to try and get used to it. Practice self-control, you know?”

“Self-control? Self-control.” He sucked in the air. Was it hot in here? Jungkook couldn’t breathe.

“You’re hyperventilating Jungkook, you gotta calm down. Please don’t hurt yourself.”

“Forget hurting myself, I’m going to hurt other people!” He stumbled backward, hands clenched into fists.

Which then promptly burst into flames.

And Jungkook was yelling.

“It’s okay, it’s okay! It doesn’t hurt you.” Yoongi was promising, trying his hardest to calm Jungkook who was freaking the hell out and was definitely not okay.

“Hands on fire, hands on fire!” Jungkook kept repeating. He stared wide-eyed as the flames spread up his arms. Yoongi was right of course, it didn’t hurt him, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t freaking him out.

“Put it out, Jungkook.”

“How am I supposed to do that? I don’t even know how I started it!” He thrust his arms out in front of him, making sure they weren’t touching anything. Yoongi stepped back, shielding his face from the heat.

“Christ, Jungkook, you are hot.” he grinned, but Jungkook continued staring at him like he was crazy.

“Now is really not the time!” he was shaking his head like a wet dog. The flames were starting to creep across his chest and torso. “Water? Baking soda? I don’t know! What puts flames out?”

“You gotta put them out yourself. You’ve done it before.”

“When on earth did I do that?”

“Well I guess it technically wasn’t you, it was-”

“For the love of God, please do something!”

“Okay okay okay. Just close your eyes and think really hard about the flames disappearing. I don’t know. I’ve never accidentally set myself on fire.”

“Seriously, Yoongi?” Jungkook groaned loudly but found himself squeezing his eyes shut anyway. “Flames, flames, go away.”

“Oh come on, that’s a little pathetic.”

“Please stop talking to me.” he rotated his arms slightly, turning his palms towards the floor.  _ Make me normal please for the love of God make me normal. _

“You’re thinking pretty loud over there.”

“You know, considering we haven’t talked in like two months and you tried to kill me, this is a pretty awkward reunion.”

“I’m really sorry I tried to kill you. One, that wasn’t totally me. Two, Agust would also like to apologize for trying to kill you.”

“I’m honored.”

“For Christ’s sake, Jungkook, open your eyes.” Yoongi was staring at him with a smirk, arms folded tightly across his chest. Jungkook wasn’t on fire anymore.

Wasn’t that nice.

“How did I do that? I don’t know how I did that. How did I do that?” he started to hyperventilate again and Yoongi frowned. He reached out to touch Jungkook’s arm but recoiled immediately in a hiss of pain.

“Jesus, you’re like a stovetop.”

“Oh my God,” Jungkook kept muttering over and over again as he ran his fingers through his hair. He was never going to be able to get the hang of anything. He was going to be a hot mess (no pun intended) for the entirety of his life.

“Hey hey, it’s going to be okay. Everybody has gone through this process. Remember? Jin was older when he got his powers. He probably freaked out just as badly. Give or take, you also have strength and speed you have to watch out for...”

“Is this all a joke to you?” Jungkook retaliated, tears starting to fall in frustration. Yoongi was far too smiley for something that was changing Jungkook’s entire life.

Yoongi’s smile dropped. He sighed loudly. “Of course not. I’m just trying to make you feel better about the situation.”

“We have to take this seriously. Please. I am terrified. I don’t even know the whole story. How did I get here? How did I...” he couldn’t finish talking.  _ Please let this be a nightmare _ .

“I’d give you a hug, but… I’m trying to avoid another third-degree burn.” he waved his bandaged wrist. Jin had healed most of it, but Yoongi wanted it to scar, as a memory of what happened that night.

“I did that to you?” Jungkook’s voice was so broken, and seeing him so scared and frustrated broke Yoongi’s heart. He let out another sigh.

“I’ll explain what happened, okay? From the beginning.”

“I want to know everything. Even the bad stuff.”

Yoongi nodded. “I’ll be completely honest.”

They moved back to Jungkook’s bed, where Jungkook pulled his knees up to his chest tightly and intertwined his fingers around them. Yoongi sat at the end, a good distance away from where Jungkook wouldn’t accidentally fry him.

“With the other guy being in charge for so long, I kind of lost it.” he scratched his chin.“I got taken over by all these voices and D was nowhere to be found. And then you came down to see me and I couldn’t get a hold of myself, and, Jungkook, I am so sorry I tried to kill you. Never in a million years would I willingly want to hurt you. Please know that.”

“It’s okay. Wouldn’t be the first time you tried to kill me.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes. “I’m being serious here.”

Jungkook shrugged. “It wasn’t you. I know that. I felt like I failed you.”

“Oh Jungkook, no no no. Never in a million years.” he reached out to touch him before remembering Jungkook was a million degrees. With a sigh, Yoongi tucked his hands back into his lap.

“Kinda weird having a boyfriend who wants to kill you all the time, huh?”

“Jungkook, I swear to God.”

“I’m kidding. Besides, I think we technically broke up when I died.”

“Oh. Right. I uh, forgot about that.” Yoongi’s face was turning red and he wasn’t sure why. “But uhm, you got kidnapped, and that was kind of my breaking point. You know, Agust and I remembered you talking about a common goal. And uh, that common goal was finding you.”

Jungkook blinked, feeling his own face flush red. “Me?”

“Yeah. You. You’re the most important thing in both of our lives. And you were right, we are a lot happier.” Yoongi grunted, one hand twitching in his lap. “Jesus, hold on!”

“Er...”

“He wants to talk,” Yoongi answered. He rolled his shoulders, eyes blinking gold and hair turning blonde and Jungkook could only stare. He just let Agust take over? No fighting? No nothing?

What the hell had Jungkook missed?

“Hi, Jungkookie.” Agust grinned. “It’s been a while.”

“Uhm, yeah.” he swallowed loudly. “Hello.”

“You’re probably super confused. Which is okay, because I was too, at first. You know, having feelings and stuff. Which, I guess I still do. Because I want you around just as much as Yoongi does. Is that weird?”

“Uh, no. not at all. Maybe.”

“Anyways, I want to apologize for all the harm I’ve caused between you and Yoongi, and just you in general. I mean, I’m not having any urges to kill you. Now fucking you, that’s a whole other story.” his smirk faltered. “Hold on Yoongi, I’m not done! Honestly, he has no patience. But look, things are going to be difficult. Yoongi knows that. I know that. But we are going to help you, okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“You’ll be alright Jungkook.” One nod later, Yoongi’s familiar dark eyes and hair were back, brow creased with worry. “You good?”

“You can just, easily, do, that...? But...”

“Common goal, Jungkook. Anyways, we got the team ready to go out. Then Yerim and a girl named Jinsol came to us saying they wanted to help. Jinsol is still with us actually. We got a couple of new people, a girl named Kim Jisoo, Kim Jungeun, who is kind of an ass but gets along with Jinsol really well so we let her stay, and a couple of others I’m drawing a blank to names at the moment. But they told us Jay had turned you into a monster.” Yoongi paused, teeth running over his lower lip. Jungkook held his breath. “They had you hurting people. You hurt Hoseok really badly. Jimin too. Probably some others. No, it’s okay! They’re alright.” Yoongi threw his hands out when Jungkook’s expression became panicked. “Jin took care of things. You’ve been out for a couple of days. It’s given people time to get back into the swing. Hoseok is getting plenty of rest with Namjoon, Jimin is with Tae. Soobin, Yeojin, and Taehyun are all okay too. You almost killed me too, so we can call it even.”

Jungkook groaned, hiding his face in his hands.

“It wasn’t you Jungkook, you can’t remember. They brainwashed you. It’s okay. But, uhm, Jiwoo took you back to Jin and they got you home alright. I took care of Jay, got shot a couple of times, the building got destroyed, and that leaves us here.”

"Shot? Lord." Jungkook still had his hands over his face. This was a mess. He was a mess.

“Hey.” Jungkook felt Yoongi pull his hands away. He didn’t even flinch, which meant Jungkook had somehow managed to get his body temperature under control. “Look at me.”

Yoongi felt warm. His eyes seemed darker than usual, but his face was caring. Kind.

“You’re still the most beautiful thing on this planet, understand me? You always will be.”

Jungkook sighed. “Yoongi-”

“Don’t you dare start arguing with me.” he paused, eyes looking up at the ceiling before flickering back to Jungkook. “I love you Jungkook. I love you so much, and I don’t think I have ever loved anybody as much as I love you.”

Jungkook only stared. They had both told one another they loved each other, but the circumstances had been horrible both times. This was like, for real.

“Jungkook?”

He crashed his lips onto Yoongi’s, foreheads bumping and teeth clacking. Jungkook slid a hand behind Yoongi’s neck while Yoongi’s hands moved to his waist. It was perfect, absolutely perfect. Months and months and months it felt like, and finally, this.

Jungkook’s other hand gripped Yoongi’s upper arm tightly as he mumbled against his mouth, “I love you too. Oh my god, I love you so much.”

Yoongi only laughed. It sounded beautiful. Angelic. Everything Jungkook ever wanted.

As their kiss became more passionate, Jungkook noticed Yoongi was starting to become less and less forceful. His breathing was heavy.

Jungkook shoved him away. There was a red handprint on his arm where Jungkook had been touching him, and a scarlet mark on the back of his neck as well. His lips were swollen.

Yoongi ducked his head as he blushed.

“Oh my god. Yoongi, you idiot! You can’t… oh my god.” Jungkook pushed his hands over his ears. He was going to hurt everybody he ever touched.

“Oh come on, it’s alright. If it really hurt that bad, I would have pulled away a lot sooner. It’s just that it was really nice to kiss you again and I didn’t want to pull away.” He grinned. “It’ll fade in a few days. I’ll send Chae to get aloe. It’s like a sunburn.”

Jungkook groaned. “We aren’t kissing again until I know I won’t hurt you.”

“Oh, come on!” Yoongi stuck out his bottom lip in a pout, but Jungkook only shook his head.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

Yoongi raised an eyebrow. “Maybe I don’t mind you hurting me.”

“Yoongi.”

“Come on Jungkook. You’re hot. Literally and appearance-wise. I can put up with the heat if it means feeling you next to me. And, like, eventually, inside of me.”

Jungkook choked, his body temperature shooting through the roof as he blushed fiercely. Yoongi was laughing.

“Why are you embarrassed? Thought you wanted that. We can finally put those condoms Hoseok’s always giving me to use.”

“Gah! Please stop.”

“How old are you again?”

“I don’t like talking about this stuff.” Jungkook put his hands over his ears once more, but it wasn’t doing him much good. He could still hear every goddamn thing on the planet.

“Jeon Jungkook, are you telling me you’ve never had sex?”

“Of course I have!” he shot back at Yoongi’s smug expression. Then his hands were twisting in his lap. “Just… not with… you know, a guy.”

“Oh. That’s right. You’re new to this.”

“Shut up.”

“Well, it won’t happen for a while. Gotta wait for the food to cool.” He grinned, ducking the pillow Jungkook threw at him.

“You’re awful.”

“Okay okay, I’ll stop. I gotta go do some leader stuff. You want to come with and see everyone?”

“Sure. But, uhm, if I put clothes on, are they going to catch fire?”

Yoongi shrugged. “Depends on how hot you are.” a smirk rose to his lips.

“I swear to God, if you say anything sexual, I’ll-”

“You’ll what?”

Jungkook frowned. “Nothing.”

“That’s what I thought. People are already going to ask about this handprint sunburn I have going on. What am I going to tell them?”

“You fucked up with the sunscreen.”

“Get some clothes on, you tease.” Yoongi sighed. “I can say though, whatever they did to you there, you certainly have even more dominant abs now and that is fucking hot.”

“I’m going to kill you,” muttered Jungkook under his breath as he went to the duffel bag Yoongi had left on the floor. He unzipped it and pulled out fresh clothes.

“Why are you going to kill me? I’m the one that wants your clothes off, not on.”

“I would like you to stop talking.”

“Oh shut it, you missed me.”

Jungkook shimmied into his shirt before responding. “Yeah, I did.” He was happy to see his shirt was not catching on fire.

“Just wanted to let you know that uh, everyone is aware of your condition. So no one should be staring at you. And if they are, I’ll beat them up for you.”

“Oh boy, my knight in shining armor.”

“Good to know you are just as much of a smart ass as before.” Yoongi winked before pulling the door wide open. He ushered Jungkook out first, letting the door close on its own.

Jungkook was nervous walking through the hallway. It felt like years since he had done that, and everything looked different now that he had better eyesight.

Yoongi reached out and grabbed his hand. “Just a few more notches and you might feel like a normal person.”

“Wow, thanks.” That didn’t help Jungkook's nervous state.

“I like warm Jungkook. You’re like my own personal heater.”

Jungkook didn’t answer, only gripped Yoongi’s hand tighter.

“You don’t need to be so nervous dude. Everyone understands. You’re like us now.”

“I don’t like it.” his voice came out whiny.

“I know, Jungkookie.” Yoongi pulled Jungkook further down the hallway. Their first stop was Hoseok, as Jungkook felt he should formally apologize even though Yoongi claimed he understood. That didn’t make anything better.

Yoongi waited outside while Jungkook went in. Hoseok was curled in a ball, his head in Namjoon’s lap and eyes squeezed shut. Namjoon was playing with his hair. The room felt really calm.

“Hey, Jungkook.” Namjoon sent a small smile his way. “How are you feeling?”

Jungkook shifted his weight from one foot to another, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans. “I’m okay. Freaking out, but okay.”

“Mm, yeah. I understand the freaking out part. But don’t worry, you’ll get it under control and it'll be the best thing that ever happened to you.” he paused to look down at Hoseok’s sleeping form. He looked like he was in a lot of pain. Hoseok’s face was hollow, dark bags under his eyes. He looked significantly skinnier too, Jungkook noted. “Are you and Yoongi doing alright?”

“Uh, yeah. I think so. But that’s not important. How’s Hoseok?”

Namjoon pushed the hair out of Hoseok’s face with a sigh. “He’s beat. It was hard for him. The dude has been through a lot, but I don’t think anything compared to that. He keeps having nightmares too. Terrible ones. He wakes up in the middle of the night screaming, and then he just sits there and cries into my shoulder. I don’t like seeing him in this much pain. Jin keeps offering to help out, see if he can do anything, but Hoseok says he has to get through this himself. He’s a fucking idiot, but I’m so happy he’s okay.”

“I, uh,” Jungkook was struggling not to break down into tears. He had added to Hoseok’s traumatizing experience and that was what destroyed him the most about seeing him like this. “I just wanted to say sorry. I’m so sorry. Sorry for every single thing. I would never hurt him, never, but I did and-” he choked. Dammit.

“Oh Jungkook, he knows it wasn’t you. He doesn’t blame you at all.”

“But it was me.”

“Don’t start this shit man, they were messing with your brain. Everyone knows that. Hoseok knew it wasn’t you the minute you showed up.”

“That doesn’t make it any better.” Jungkook rubbed at his eyes as Hoseok stirred in his sleep.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Namjoon whispered as Hoseok sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

“Hey.” it was then he noticed Jungkook. “Oh. Hey Jungkook.”

“Hi.” he looked at the ground.

“Jungkook and I were just talking. He’s feeling much better.”

“That’s good. The powers thing takes a little while to get used to. Trust me, I know from personal experience.”

“I’m so sorry Hoseok,” Jungkook suddenly blurted out, all his words running together. “I would never willingly hurt you, and I did, and I’m so sorry. I know I’ll never be able to make it up to you, I know that, but-”

“For the love of God, Jungkook, it’s okay. I know it wasn’t you. Trust me, the minute I saw your face I knew they had done something to you. I’m just glad you’re feeling okay. If any of us got the short straw, it was you.” he hopped off the bed and went to wrap his arms around Jungkook. Jungkook prayed he wasn't a million freaking degrees at the moment as he buried his face in the crook of Hoseok’s neck. “Don’t for one second blame yourself for this.”

“Can’t help it.”

As they pulled away, Hoseok rolled his eyes. “You’re warm. That’s an improvement.”

“That’s good. I’m always up for an improvement.”

A smirk rose to Hoseok’s lips and Jungkook braced himself for whatever horrible thing was about to come out of his mouth next. “So, you and Yoongi had sex yet?”

Jungkook groaned at the same time Namjoon scolded Hoseok. He threw his hands up in defense.

“It’s an honest question! They can touch now, Yoongi’s got control of his other side, I’ve given him plenty of rubbers...”

“Please. Stop.” Jungkook pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt behind him for the doorknob. It started to pop and fizzle, to which Jungkook immediately pulled away. Embarrassment equaled a hotter temperature. He’d have to keep that in mind.

“Don’t fuck up our doorknob,” Namjoon shouted over Hoseok’s laughter.

“You know, now that I’m thinking about it, you and Yoongi having sex might be really bad. You’re going to not only kill him but set the entire building on fire.”

“You’re going to make him explode, Hobi.” Namjoon was grinning too. Jungkook wanted to die.

It was then that Yoongi pushed the door in, completely knocking Jungkook who was standing in front of it to the floor. Hoseok was sent into another fit of giggles, one hand clutching his heart. Jungkook stared up at him from the floor with narrowed eyes.

“I can hear everything you are saying. Leave the poor guy alone. He doesn’t like talking about that kind of stuff.”

“Thank you,” Jungkook muttered, but there was something on Yoongi’s face that gave off the impression he wasn’t finished.

“Besides, he has to prepare for his first time.”

Jungkook swore he was going to kill Yoongi the minute they were alone.

“Oh, dude.” Hoseok was laughing even harder, and Jungkook was turning more and more red as the seconds passed. He might burn the building down if this continued.

“I fucking hate all of you,” Jungkook mumbled under his breath as he pushed himself off the ground. Yoongi offered him a hand, and in all honesty, he was tempted to burn his skin off. “Too hot.”

“You embarrassed him to the point of no return,” Namjoon joined in on the laughter. Jungkook pushed past Yoongi and started walking down the hallway. He reminded himself to avoid Hoseok for a while.

\---

Jungkook stood outside Tae’s door, his hand raised to knock where it had been for about three minutes now. He wanted to see Jimin and apologize, but then again, he was scared beyond belief of what Tae was going to do to him.

That is if he even knew what Jungkook did.

He would know, that was for certain. There was no way he wouldn’t know. The question was if he knew it was Jungkook.

“Only one way to find out.” he rapped his knuckles on the door and waited patiently for him to open it. Jungkook noticed there were people in the dining room, just like old times. The hole seemed like it was fixed too. When did they do that?

While he was preoccupied, Tae pulled him inside the bedroom and slammed him against the wall. His fist made contact with Jungkook’s nose.

“Jesus Christ!” Jungkook groaned, raising a hand to his now bleeding nose. His face was tingling.

“That’s for hurting Jimin,” he simply stated before pulling Jungkook into a hug. He didn’t seem phased by Jungkook’s temperature so that was good. “And that’s for everything else.” Jungkook nodded his head at Tae’s grinning features. Had he gone insane?

Jimin was leaning up against the wall on the bed, a blanket curled tightly around his shoulders. He looked healthy besides the fact that he was unhealthily skinny like Hoseok had been and his cheeks were just as hollow. But he was clean and okay and that was all that mattered.

Jungkook couldn’t help but glance down at his missing hand.

“Good to see you too.” he wiped the blood on his jeans.

“Are you alright? Doing any better? Coping any better?”

“I’m alright. A little freaked out, but alright. And I’ll get better.”

“Damn right you will. I have no doubt you will. I want to see you and Yeonjun arm wrestle some time. See who’s stronger.” Tae suddenly let out a loud laugh as he turned towards Jimin. He was grinning. “That too.”

“Uh...” Jungkook looked between the two of them. “What just happened?”

“Jimin said he wants to see you and Jennie race. See who’s faster.”

“But...he didn’t...say anything?” Jungkook was very confused.

Tae tapped the side of his head. “He and I don’t have to talk out loud anymore. Everything is up here. And he’s working to be able to do it with other people.” Jimin nodded his head.

“Oh. Well uhm, that’s really great. I’m really happy that worked out.” Then Jungkook let out a sigh. “I just wanted to say I’m really really sorry for what I did in the prison. I have no recollection of it and I would never hurt you purposely. You guys are like family to me.”

“Jimin says it’s okay. He realized they had done something to you the minute your hands lit up in flames. Speaking of which, you have got to show me that. I’ve never seen anyone with the ability to do that.”

“You know Tae, I don’t think that’s a good idea. One, I don’t even know how to do it, and two, I’ll end up setting the place on fire if I’m not careful enough. So, uhm...” Jungkook looked away.

“Sorry Jungkook, I keep forgetting this isn’t your average talent situation. I’m really sorry they did that to you. No one deserves that. But you’re strong. You’ll figure it out. And you got Yoongi to take care of you. Speaking of which-”

“No!” Jungkook yelled, pointing a finger at Tae. He knew what was coming. “Do not say it! If you say it I’m going to set fire to your bedroom.”

“You don’t know what I was going to say,” he argued, but he had one cocked eyebrow and Jungkook was no idiot. Okay, he was on most occasions, but right now he was not. “Unless you can read minds. Can you read minds?”

“I can read enough to know what you were about to bring up. The answer is no and will remain no until further proven.”

Tae folded his arms, expression still smug. “You remember that day I caught you two trying to leave?”

Oh no.

“Yeah, you do. Because you two left anyway, didn’t you? You probably went off somewhere secluded, away from everyone here. And when you came back, isn’t it just funny that none other than Jung Hoseok found you walking the hallways naked?”

Jungkook was pretty sure he would be mistaken as a tomato at this point. Why was everyone so concerned about his sex life? It didn’t matter. It wasn’t important.

“You and our dear leader obviously did something, so you don’t get to play innocent. And this just in: Yoongi’s been spotted with a handprint shaped mark on his upper arm. Hmm.”

“I’m leaving now.” he went to grab the doorknob when it occurred to him what happened last time. A sigh of frustration escaped as he pulled his hand away. Of course. Of frickin’ course.

Tae clucked his tongue. “You’re going to melt the doorknob, aren’t you? Why do you get all flustered about this stuff man? Are you twelve?”

“Yes,” Jungkook mumbled, angry with the fact that he would be stuck here until A, Tae stopped talking, or B, until he calmed down enough to revert his body temperature away from boiling temperatures.

“Oh dude.” his laugh pounded in Jungkook’s ears. “You know how paper burns at 451 degrees?

“How would I know that?”

Tae pressed a scrap of paper to Jungkook’s arm, which promptly began smoking. If he turned any more red he was going to set fire to his clothing. What temperature did cloth burn?

He really didn’t want to be around anyone when he found out.

“Glad to see your little experiment worked. Now could you open the door for me please?” Tae wiped tears that had fallen from his eyes and yanked on the doorknob. Jungkook shot him a look that screamed “I’m going to kill you” before storming off down the hallway.

“Stay safe!” he called after him.

Jungkook was going to strangle Taehyung. No, he was going to strangle every single person in this goddamn place.

He didn’t only have to worry about the people, but about trying to stay cool enough to live like a normal person and not set fire to everything he touched. And being mad was not helping him to stay cool. He was never going to be able to touch anyone without burning the shit out of them. How was he expected to deal with that? He could accidentally kill someone one day. He had already almost done that.

He was such an idiot.

\---

Yoongi was sitting in Jungkook's bedroom, on his bed, with a stupid fucking smirk on his face.

Jungkook wanted to be alone.

“Jesus, what happened to your face? You alright?” he asked once Jungkook dropped down next to him with a groan and shoved his face into his hands.

Jungkook replied with a mumbled “No.”

“Bad day?” Jungkook felt an arm drape over his shoulders and he moved closer to Yoongi, burying his face in his chest.

“Yep.”

“It gets better as the days go by. Trust me, I know.”

“I know, I shouldn’t be complaining.”

Yoongi scoffed. “Oh come on, you have every right to complain. It’s okay to get things off your chest. And I’m really sorry about teasing you. I know things aren’t the best right now and it wasn't right of me to push you.”

“S’okay. I know it’s kind of weird I get embarrassed by that kind of stuff. I just don’t like talking about it in front of other people.”

With a heavy sigh, Yoongi leaned down to kiss the top of Jungkook’s head. Jungkook could feel him smiling in his hair. “Are you up for it though?”

“What?” Jungkook could be terribly oblivious at times.

“Sex, Jungkook. I’m talking about sex.”

“Oh.” he pushed himself off of Yoongi so he could properly sit on the bed. “Of course. I love you.”

“Just because you love someone doesn’t mean you have to do it.”

“Yoongi, you gave me a blowjob. I think I mean it when I say I want to have sex.”

His wheezing laughter rang out, sending happy chills down Jungkook’s spine. He loved it when Yoongi laughed. He wanted him to laugh all the time.

“I love you, Jungkook.” Yoongi pulled him back into a hug.

“Love you too.”

  
  



	22. 022

Over the course of three months, the clan got back into the swing of things. Everyone was healing nicely, engaging in conversation, going out into the city more. They chatted, worked, and overall, enjoyed themselves.

Jimin was doing well. He could still use his powers; only now it was telepathically based. He could establish a telepathic connection with pretty much anyone in the building, but most of the time it was just with Taehyung. They were always giving each other small glances or smiles, always touching in some fashion.

Lisa, Chae, Jennie, and Jisoo were always hanging out together. It turned out that Jisoo got along really well with Lisa, and the sisters could make friends with anyone.

Jungeun got a lot better at being around people. She had apologized and meant it, and was a lot nicer in general. Jinsol promised she was a nice person, she just had been confused. They were always together, keeping to themselves, although they often shared sad smiles about how they felt incomplete without Yerim. 

The others were doing much better as well. Everything was back to normal, but it was a much better kind of normal. One that everyone could get used to.

Every day for an hour or so, Jungkook and Yoongi spent time downstairs in Yoongi’s little workout room. Yoongi was teaching Jungkook some of his self-control and breathing exercises, giving him tips for how to control his body temperature and the flames. Three months later, Jungkook was doing a very good job of not setting anyone or anything on fire. He had only broken a table accidentally and given Yoongi a few minor burns.

Jungkook was doing okay with this life. It was weird, having powers and not being able to do the things he wanted to do all the time, but he got to be with Yoongi, could touch Yoongi, could hug and kiss and cuddle with him all he wanted, and he reminded himself that was the most important part.

“How are you doing?” Yoongi asked quietly as he circled around Jungkook with his arms crossed. They were practicing today, much later than usual. Jungkook had managed to convince Yoongi to be lazy today. He played guitar for a good hour, Yoongi watching very closely (and making several inappropriate comments) and then they spent a good amount of time making out. It wasn’t until Jungkook’s body temperature spiked did Yoongi pull him downstairs by his sleeve to practice, Jungkook grumbling the whole way down.

“I’m fine. Still mad at you, though.”

“Oh shush. You’re doing fine. This isn’t something you haven’t done a million times.”

“Well if I’ve done it a million times, why do I have to do it a million and one?”

“Because practice makes perfect. Come on. Get through this,” Yoongi paused, raising an eyebrow, “and I’ll blow you.”

Jungkook felt his dick twitch. Stop that.

“Tempting offer, but you can’t bribe me. You can’t do anything really, because I’m stronger than you, faster than you, AND hotter than you.”

“Alright, prove it, fire boy.”

“Don’t ever call me that again.”

“Fire boy. Fire boy, Fire boy, Fire boy.” Yoongi grinned cheekily to which Jungkook promptly flipped him off.

“Oh, fuck you.”

“Please do.” he ducked out of the way of Jungkook’s fist. “Come on, just do the flame thing. We have to catch you up on missed time.”

Jungkook sighed dramatically, sprawling a hand over his face. “Fiiiiine.” He figured out that the flame part came with a little friction and a whole lot of heat. Also, will had a little bit to do with that. The only hard part was getting the flames to go out. Focusing on lowering your body temperature was a lot harder than it sounded, thank you very much.

Yoongi nodded his head in satisfaction when Jungkook’s hands exploded in flames. Jungkook glared at him, raising one fist slightly.

“There. You happy?”

“I am. Now put it out.”

Jungkook closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. In and out, in and out. Cold things. Ice. Seoul in the winter. Frozen pizza. Yoongi’s heart.

He snickered at the last one, causing Yoongi to look over in suspicion. “What are you laughing at?”

“My awesome sense of humor.”

“Right.” Yoongi rolled his eyes. He reached out and gently laid a hand on Jungkook’s upper arm. “Gotta go cooler.”

“So not you then?”

“Ha ha ha, so funny, fire boy.” Jungkook elbowed him as Yoongi walked behind. When he opened his eyes to see Yoongi pouting, Jungkook grinned. He waved his hands in front of Yoongi’s face.

“Fire’s out. You have to blow me.”

Yoongi scoffed. “No. You were mean. And that shouldn’t even count.”

“Oh whatever, that’s the fastest I’ve ever made the fire go away. You want me to jack my temperature up again? Turn the room into a sauna?”

“You can jack something all right.” a smirk rose to Yoongi’s lips as Jungkook groaned.

“You’re an asshole.”

Instead of replying, Yoongi only nudged Jungkook towards the wall, pressing a hand up against it on either side of him. Eyes blinked gold and hair faded blonde.

“Don’t think you want to fight us on this Jungkookie.”

“Or do I?” he challenged shakily. It had been three months, and Jungkook felt he could control his temperature for a good while.

Agust grinned. He began nudging Jungkook out the door into the office and across to Yoongi’s bedroom.

“Against the wall,” he demanded. Jungkook happily obeyed, leaning up against the wall lazily. He unzipped his pants, raising an eyebrow. Yoongi’s eyes and hair went back to being dark.

“Are you sure?” he asked, face masked in concern. Jungkook shrugged.

“Can’t say until we try. And I want to try. And now’s as good as time as any.” his face blossomed into a dark shade of red and Yoongi let out a small laugh.

“Oh, dude. Don’t tell me you’re hard.”

“What? You’re pretty sexy as a blonde with gold eyes.”

Yoongi laughed again as he leaned down and kissed the corner of Jungkook’s mouth. His hands slipped under Jungkook’s shirt, sliding over his hips. “You’re sure?”

“No Yoongi, I’m lying.” Jungkook rolled his eyes, annoyance in his tone. “I’m sure.”

“But like, you’ve never done this before. You could hate it.”

Jungkook pressed forward to pull Yoongi back into a kiss. “Just shut up and fuck me.”

“You don’t get to be the bossy one,” Yoongi murmured against his mouth. He moved down to Jungkook’s collarbone, biting down to string hickeys. Jungkook moaned softly.

“Don’t tease me.”

“How about you shut the fuck up?” he went back to sucking, fingers trailing down Jungkook’s arms. He was more gentle running over the scars. “You’re all mine.”

“Mmhm,” replied Jungkook lazily as he nudged Yoongi away and pulled his shirt over his head. Yoongi pulled it out of his hands and tossed it onto the bed behind him. He watched with heated eyes as Jungkook pulled off his jeans, smirking at the bulge in his boxers before Jungkook was pulling those off too.

Yoongi pulled off his shirt, slamming the door closed before he stripped off everything else. Jungkook’s breathing hitched. God was Yoongi beautiful. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen him naked before, but this was different. He was Jungkook’s and nobody else. Everything about his tiny body was flawless, from his soft skin to his scar to the smirk on his face.

And to think Jungkook got all of it.

“You have to do everything I say, understand?” Yoongi’s voice was husky as he trailed a fingertip down Jungkook’s spine.

“Yes.”

“Turn around,” demanded Yoongi, but Jungkook didn’t. Instead, his eyes widened.

“Are we doing it, like, against the wall? There’s a bed?”

“Don't question me. Now turn around. I won’t do anything until you’re okay with it, alright?”

“Er, yeah. Okay.” Yoongi was the expert here. He knew more. So Jungkook turned around.

Yoongi gently wrapped a hand around his jaw, yanking his head back so he could kiss him. They started out soft and slow but it didn't take long before Yoongi was pushing his tongue into Jungkook's mouth and biting down hard on his lower lip. Jungkook let out a small whimper.

"Hands on the wall," muttered Yoongi as he moved his own hands downwards across the skin, thumbing at his chest and hips. Jungkook sighed happily, moving inwards into his touch. "Wall, now," he repeated, causing Jungkook to go frigid. He moved both hands to the wall, trying his hardest to keep his temp low. He didn't want to hurt Yoongi.

Jungkook felt Yoongi trail farther down his body until it was wrapping around the base of his dick, causing him to buck under his touch again. His hands came off the wall, temperature rising slightly.

"You doing okay?" Yoongi whispered against his shoulder as he pressed his other hand against his back. Jungkook nodded his head with a shaky sigh. "Lower your temperature a little, okay, baby? You're getting hotter."

"Lower," Jungkook repeated as he squeezed his eyes shut and focused all his attention on moving his temp back down. He pushed against the wall as hard as he could.

"Good boy. I'm gonna open you up now, okay? If at any time you feel pain, you gotta let me know. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

Yoongi pressed his lips to Jungkook's shoulder softly before letting go and moving away from him briefly. Jungkook felt cold at the sudden lack of touch but perked but up at the sound of a dresser drawer opening and a lube bottle clicking open. He moved a hand down to his dick, moaning at the touch.

"Jungkook," Yoongi said firmly, but Jungkook didn't open his eyes. He only grumbled and moved his hand back. "We'll get there baby, I promise. Just wait."

A few seconds later Yoongi had one hand back on Jungkook's shoulder. He trailed it down his spine, causing Jungkook to push his head back greedily. Yoongi chuckled as he kissed Jungkook on the mouth softly.

"Hurry up," Jungkook demanded against Yoongi's lips. Yoongi pulled away.

"Okay, you good?"

"Please, Yoongi," his voice came out as a whiny plea, and nothing had even happened yet. Yoongi sighed, placing another kiss back on Jungkook's shoulder.

"Stay low, okay? I don't wanna burn off my fingers." Yoongi placed his hand gently on Jungkook's back before shoving one finger inside of him.

Jungkook arched back, meeting Yoongi halfway, a loud whiny moan echoing throughout the bedroom. He could feel himself sweating as Yoongi moved his finger up further.

"You okay, baby?" Yoongi sounded worried at Jungkook's reaction and pulled his finger out. Jungkook gasped, his fingers curling inwards on themselves.

"Oh you asshole," he muttered loudly, banging his head against the wall. Jungkook began moving a hand down to his dick, but Yoongi swatted it away.

"No, you gotta wait."

"Yoongi please."

"You're okay?"

"I'm fine!" Jungkook moaned again as Yoongi wrapped a hand around his dick and pumped gently.

"Good?"

"Fuck," he spat out, banging his head against the wall once again. Yoongi paused briefly, covering his fingers in more lube as he pressed another up inside Jungkook. Jungkook moaned even louder than last time, once again meeting Yoongi's thrusts halfway. He let out a string of profanities as Yoongi scissored his fingers inside him, pushing farther up.

"Too hot, baby," mumbled Yoongi as he loosened his grip on Jungkook's skin. Jungkook shook his head, trying to forget the pleasure briefly enough to focus on cooling himself down. He didn't want to fry his boyfriend during sex. That wouldn't be a good conversation starter with Jin.

Oh god. He didn't want to think about Jin during sex.

"Jungkook, what are you doing?"

"Waiting for you to put your dick inside me! Fuck!" He yelled again, bucking his hips backward as Yoongi hit his prostate. He felt Yoongi start to casually jerk him off again.

"You want another finger?" Yoongi questioned, bending forward to bite down on his neck. Jungkook was trying so hard not to set fire to anything.

"God," was Jungkook's only reply, to which Yoongi added another finger. He arched again.

"You good?"

"I'm good." Jungkook's eyes were starting to water and his hairline was covered in sweat, but he was good. He was really good.

And for the hell of it, Yoongi added one more, causing a sound to rip through Jungkook's body that Yoongi had never once heard before. Agust kicked him in the chest for that one, wanting nothing more than to go rough with Jungkook. But not this time, Yoongi told him. They had to be careful with Jungkook.

"Too hot," he whispered as he pulled out and tangled his lube covered fingers in Jungkook's hair. Yoongi yanked his head back, kissing him roughly on the mouth. Strings of spit trailed from their mouths when he pulled away.

"Please fuck me," Jungkook begged, pushing back onto Yoongi's palm. Yoongi chuckled softly.

"Okay, okay." He turned around and pulled open a dresser drawer to quickly pull on a condom before lining himself up with Jungkook's entrance and sighing. "You okay baby?"

"I'm fine!" Jungkook banged his head against the wall again. His dick was throbbing painfully, precum covering where Yoongi's had jerked. All he wanted was to hurry up and come.

Yoongi placed both his hands on Jungkook's shoulders, kissing him softly on the back of the neck. "Okay, you ready?"

"Christ, Yoongi!" He arched again, his body tingling with pleasure at the touch of Yoongi's dick against his back. He needed Yoongi to hurry the fuck up.

"Jesus, you're bossy." Yoongi adjusted himself and went in slowly, causing Jungkook to moan again, louder than anything he had ever made before. His entire back arched into Yoongi's gesture, his muscles glistening with sweat and stretching at the movement. Jungkook was fucking attractive, Yoongi knew that. But the fact that he was the cause of all these sounds coming out of his mouth was beautiful.

"Fucking hell!" Jungkook was yelling, his hands curling in on themselves once more and so tightly his knuckles were white. His whole body was shivering with pleasure, and God, he was thankful Yoongi was his.

Yoongi pulled his head back to kiss him roughly, tongues swirling as he pushed in farther. With each thrust, a new moan ripped through Jungkook's mouth, causing Yoongi to push harder at pleasing him. It was a wonderful sound.

"You're beautiful, baby, so fucking beautiful. And you're all mine. All mine."

"All yours," Jungkook replied, his voice breathy and eyes watering. "Oh my god, fuck."

Yoongi moved a hand back to his dick, rubbing gently. "You wanna come now?"

"Fucking hell I do." Jungkook banged his head against the wall as Yoongi thrust harder, his final one hitting Jungkook's prostate. Jungkook's body spasmed as he came all over the wall and himself, another loud moan filling the room. Yoongi kissed him gently as Jungkook's body went limp.

"You okay, baby? Did I hurt you?" He noticed Jungkook was crying, and worry filled his face.

"I'm, I'm fine." Jungkook was gasping for air, one hand feeling around for Yoongi's. He was in less of a panic when Yoongi grasped it firmly. He kissed Jungkook again.

"You did good baby. You did so good." Yoongi pulled out, letting Jungkook slump against the wall on his own for a brief second as he tied the condom up and tossed it in the trash. Then he was back over to Jungkook, throwing an arm over his shoulders and helping him shuffle out the bedroom door and around to the bathroom. He kept whispering praise to Jungkook, telling him he did "so well," that he loved him so much, how beautiful he looked, and Jungkook would only nod and try and smile. He was worn out beyond belief.

"Let's get you cleaned up, baby." He turned the shower on, not even waiting for the water to heat up before helping Jungkook in over the edge of the bathtub and letting the water run over his front. He kissed Jungkook softly, wanting to be as gentle as possible.

"That was so nice," Jungkook whispered into Yoongi's shoulder as he moved around to face him. Yoongi grinned.

"It was wonderful. I love you so much baby, so fucking much."

"I love you too." Jungkook's voice was dreamy like he was on a whole other planet. Yoongi kissed the top of his head before shifting his weight so he could put shampoo in his hands. Then he washed Jungkook's hair, massaging his head and listening to the tiny moans of pleasure Jungkook made before doing the same with conditioner and scrubbing away all the after sex fluids. Jungkook hung his head sleepily, eyes closed as water ran down his face. He could feel his dick twitch when Yoongi accidentally brushed his fingers around the area.

"Again?" Yoongi chuckled, but he crouched down and licked gently at the remaining dried come under Jungkook's navel. He bit down, leaving a nice purple teeth-marked bruise before pulling away and using a washcloth to scrub what was left to be cleaned. Jungkook moaned again.

"Fuck, Yoongi," he whispered, head falling against the shower wall. Yoongi grinned.

"You gotta wait, baby, you're going to hurt in the morning."

"I already hurt all over."

"I know love." Yoongi paused to clean away all the paint off his hands and off Jungkook's body, checking to make sure he hadn't missed anything. He kissed Jungkook on the lips cheekily, causing Jungkook to groan softly.

"Fuck you."

"Maybe some other time." Yoongi turned the shower off and pulled a towel off the rack, wrapping Jungkook in it tightly despite his protests. He kissed him again before drying himself off and helping Jungkook out of the tub.

Jungkook gripped Yoongi's shoulders as he walked him back into the bedroom, where he began to lay him down gently on his back. When Jungkook winced in pain, Yoongi resorted to his stomach.

"It hurts," Jungkook whined, pulling the towel over his head. Yoongi clucked his tongue.

"It's gonna hurt. Be careful." He pulled the towel off in one swift move, ignoring Jungkook's grumbles as he maneuvered Jungkook's legs into the holes of a fresh pair of boxers and pulled the hem up over his waist. Jungkook grimaced again.

"Sorry babe." Yoongi kissed Jungkook's temple before sliding into his own boxers and climbing into bed with him. "You wanna take a little nap? I'll be here when you wake up. Then we can go get some food. I'll go into town and get you whatever you want."

"Pizza," Jungkook mumbled into his pillow. He shifted his head onto Yoongi's stomach, one hand sliding up to trace circles on his chest. Yoongi sighed happily at the gesture.

"We haven't had pizza in forever."

"It's good."

"Yeah, I know it's good, you dork." Yoongi began playing with Jungkook's hair. "I love you."

"I love you too." He let out a happy exhale. “Am I too hot?"

"You're perfect. My own personal Jungkook heater."

"You're a dork."

"I love you."

"I know." Yoongi smacked him playfully. "I love you too."

"Next time, let's get a little harsher. Agust wants a turn."

"Sounds good."

"And pull my hair, Jungkook. I like that."

"You're so weird."

"You seem like you'd like to talk dirty."

A scoff. "Go to sleep you loser."

"I love you."

"Love you too." Yoongi smiled as he watched Jungkook's breathing slow. He was perfect. Beautiful.

All his.

\---

When Jungkook woke up, there was an absence of heat from underneath him. He realized Yoongi was gone.

His immediate reaction was to panic, which was stupid because Yoongi could do whatever he wanted, he didn’t have to stay with him. It’s just that he kept having nightmares of the prison, being tortured, of Jay putting him in some nightmare world for eternity, a world with no Yoongi. A world where Yoongi left because Jungkook was nothing but some freak of nature, nothing but a monster.

Jungkook started hyperventilating and he knew he had to stop before something bad happened, but the sheets were already starting to smoke under his palms and he rolled off the bed in a yelp, grunting when he hit the floor. It wasn’t even tomorrow and he already ached all over.

And yeah, he was crying.

Which was ridiculous, he thought. He didn’t need to cry over something so small. But Jungkook didn’t think this was just about Yoongi being gone. It was about all the stress and frustration and nightmares and pain from the past four months. He hadn’t really had time to sit down and be a mess about this, because he had to pretend to be strong, that he was happy things were different, that he wasn’t constantly freaking out because he could set fire to anything or burn people by touching them or that he could break a chair by grabbing it too tightly or sometimes he accidentally moved too fast and found himself someplace he didn’t want to be or that his eyes were black and he looked like some creepy demon creature. And now, to top it all off, he was stuck on the floor, lying on his stomach with his head buried in his arms, because it hurt to move and he was crying like a five-year-old. Jungkook looked pathetic.

“Jungkook?” he recognized Yoongi’s worry and turned to look at him. He was dressed, minus the black gloves, holding a brown cardboard pizza box and a plastic cup. Yoongi sighed, setting down his contents on the dresser before crouching down next to Jungkook and cautiously brushing his fingers against Jungkook’s back. He recoiled with another sigh. “You’re too hot, baby. What’s wrong?”

“It’s too much,” Jungkook whispered, pushing his face back into his arms. He didn’t want Yoongi to see him acting like a five-year-old.

“What, the pain? Because I know it hurts, but-”

“Everything is too much!” he yelled, trying to move again, to sit up, but nope, that definitely was not happening.

Yoongi was quiet. He looked up to the bed, where a black scorch mark had gashed across a good part of the sheets. He could connect the dots here.

“Let’s get you back on the bed, okay? Can you stay low long enough to let me move you?”

Jungkook sniffed, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. Stay low.

Yoongi covered Jungkook in a blanket (just in case) before carefully helping him to his feet, whispering sorry when Jungkook winced. He laid him back on the bed on his stomach, placing his head on a pillow. Jungkook sniffed again.

“You okay? You need to talk?” Yoongi kicked off his shoes and pulled off his jeans before squeezing tightly next to Jungkook, pulling the comforter up over both of them. Jungkook moved so his head was on Yoongi’s lap, where he tugged on one hand to give him some subtle hint to play with his hair. Yoongi did just that.

“I’m not okay,” Jungkook replied quietly. “I have nightmares. And panic attacks. And anxiety and I’m so scared you’re going to leave me and I woke up and you weren’t here and you said you would be, you said you would be, and-”

“Oh Jungkook,” Yoongi weaved his fingers through Jungkook’s hair, grasping tightly. He sighed. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think you’d wake up, I just wanted to surprise you, I didn’t know. I would never leave you, okay? Never. I love you so much, I’m not going anywhere, okay? Never.”

“I can’t keep pretending I’m okay with this.” Jungkook’s voice cracked, another round of tears making its way down his face. “I’m not. I don’t like it. It’s too much. I don’t like that I get too hot and burn people, or set things on fire. I don’t like that I don’t know my own strength or speed, or that my eyes are all weird and people get creeped out. I don’t like the way people look at me out of pity or tease me about burning the place down, because I’m scared I might actually do it. And all these little practices and exercises we do? It just reminds me that it’s all real. I got kidnapped, I got put in handcuffs and shackles and I got needles jammed into my skin and I got touched and all I heard was screaming, and I barely got food or bathroom breaks, and every day I wake up hoping it was all one big nightmare. That I’m normal, that I’m still human, that I’m not the fucking human torch, that I wasn’t turned into some successful weapon and forced to hurt and torture innocent people. I wake up crying sometimes, and all I want to do is scream. Because if I didn’t behave, or I fought back, Jay wasn’t happy. And he’d use his powers on me. Do you know what my worst nightmare is? It was hurting you. And in these little hallucinations, I’d be killing you. Or watching you die, or leave me. Over and over and over again and I could never stop it. I’d come out of them screaming and crying. It was terrible there Yoongi, it was so terrible.” Jungkook was shaking so badly, and his words were all stringing together because he was crying and yeah, Jungkook was a mess.

Yoongi felt horrible because he knew Jungkook was broken, probably was broken, but he had shrugged it off when Jungkook said he was okay. And he didn’t want Jungkook to be broken. He wanted him to be happy.

Yoongi kissed the top of his head. “I’m sorry, Jungkookie, I know it was horrible there. I know, and I’m so sorry I didn’t realize you were hurting earlier. You don’t have to be strong all the time, it’s okay to get stuff off your chest. I wasn’t strong until you helped me get strong. And I can’t relate to everything you went through, but I only want to help. I want to help you adjust to this new lifestyle as best as possible. And I know things are hard, they’re going to be hard, but you just gotta remember I’m always going to be here for you. I’m never, never, going to leave you. I love you so much Jungkook.”

Jungkook nodded his head and rubbed his eyes before he tried to adjust his position. He wasn’t sure why he kept doing that when he knew it was going to hurt.

“I brought dinner. I wasn’t sure what toppings you wanted so I got a little bit of everything. Pepperoni and ham and stuff. Oh! And I picked up that milk you like.”

“Banana milk?” Jungkook perked up a little bit as Yoongi shuffled to the other side of the room to retrieve their dinner. He shoved the cup his way.

Jungkook sighed happily as he gulped it down. It felt like he hadn’t had that in five thousand years. “S’good.”

“Let me try.” Jungkook pushed the cup his way, moving so he was leaning against his elbows. Yoongi took a sip, letting a small moan escape his lips.

“Damn, that’s good.”

“I know.”

Yoongi nudged the bag his way. “Eat something. And pick a piece for me.”

“Okay.” Jungkook rifled through for about a minute, dec. He finally decided on a piece that had an even ratio of toppings and pulling out another for himself. “Here.”

He watched carefully as Yoongi bit into his piece, eyelids fluttering as he sighed happily again. “I love you.”

“I know, right? I’m a good piece picker.” Jungkook was smiling. “Thank you. For getting this.”

“Anything for you. Sorry that you hurt. And things are a little hard right now.”

Jungkook shrugged as he bit into his own slice. He replied after he swallowed. “I don’t mind hurting. I love you too much for that. And sorry for dumping all of it on you at once. I’m an emotional loser.”

“Oh dude, if you want to talk about emotional losers, I’m your number one.” They both laughed softly. Yoongi watched Jungkook eat. “You’re so pretty Jungkook. How did I get so lucky?”

“You bought me pizza.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes, throwing the balled up receipt at Jungkook’s face. It smacked him in the nose and rolled off the bed.

“Ow.”

“Oh shut up, that didn’t hurt.” Yoongi grinned. He reached into the box for another. “Do you still want to have practice? Because we can wait. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“We can still do them. They’re good for me. But I do like rewards sometimes.”

“I think I could be of some service in that department.” Yoongi winked, causing Jungkook to choke on his food and duck his head in embarrassment. “What? You asked!”

“I know, I know.”

They were silent after that, the only sounds coming from the eating or opening the box for another slice. When they both finished, Yoongi dropped all the trash onto the floor. “I’ll clean it up later,” he promised before pressing farther into the bed. He strung an arm protectively over Jungkook, who placed his head back on Yoongi’s stomach. Yoongi closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall.

“I love you, Yoongi,” Jungkook said suddenly.

“I love you too.”

“Thank you. For everything.”

“You know I’d do anything for you.”

Jungkook smiled. “I know.”


	23. 023

“Okay, you guys know the basic rules of arm wrestling, right?" Taehyung asked with a shit-eating grin on his face as he leaned forward on his elbows. Jungkook and Yeonjun sat at a table in the dining room, the rest of the residents gathered around them in a small crowd. Tae was finally getting to see who was stronger.

"Come on Jungkook, you got this," Yoongi cheered, earning a playful glare from Yeonjun. Jungkook rolled his eyes.

"Everyone knows how to arm wrestle. Come on!"

"Okay jeez. Fine, you can go."

The minute Tae finished his sentence, Yeonjun pushed forward, trying to bend Jungkook's arm down to the table, but Jungkook was actually managing to keep his arm upright. Yeonjun blinked in surprise.

"Wow, how are you doing that?" He loosened his grip in astonishment, giving Jungkook the perfect opportunity to push the other way. Yeonjun grunted as he pushed back up. His antlers began to sprout from his blonde locks.

"Someone who matches Yeonjun’s strength! Who would have guessed?" Beomgyu said from the front of the crowd. He was watching with his arms crossed, grinning. Jungkook narrowed his eyes, trying to contain his focus on winning. His arm was starting to shake and was getting dangerously low to the tabletop.

"Is it hurting you?" Yeonjun asked, and he genuinely sounded worried. Jungkook shook his head.

"Nope, all good." He pushed up, but Yeonjun had the upper hand and slammed down, declaring himself the winner. The crowd cheered.

Yeonjun offered his hand for a handshake, to which Jungkook accepted. "That's impressive, man. I'll have to be careful now that there's two of us." He winked, leaning back in his chair. Jungkook chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, I didn't realize..."

"If you ever want any pointers or anything, I can help you out. I've been there." He flashed a sympathetic grin and pushed out of his chair. The crowd began to disperse.

"Jennie and you next," Tae chanted as he bobbed up and down, but Yoongi shook his head.

"Give him a rest Tae, he's still figuring things out."

"Some other time," Jungkook agreed. Tae scowled.

"Fine." He glanced over at Jimin, who raised an eyebrow and grinned. Tae grinned back and the two of them disappeared down the hallway to their bedroom.

"It's so weird they can do that now," Yoongi commented quietly. Jungkook nodded.

"They're lost in their own little world. Which isn't too bad, I guess."

"I guess we can technically do that too. But a different way. And it requires a lot more effort."

"Oh, that's right." Jungkook had forgotten about that. He tugged on Yoongi's hand and pointed down the hallway. "I wanna try something." Yoongi didn't ask why, he just shrugged and followed him back to his bedroom.

When they made it to Jungkook's room, he pushed down on Yoongi's shoulders to make him sit on the bed and leaned his forehead against Yoongi’s.

"What are we doing?"

Jungkook shushed him and closed his eyes. He wanted to see if he could make this work. Yoongi remained quiet all through the process. Jungkook was thinking really hard about what he wanted Yoongi to see.

"Jungkook?"

"Shhh!!!"

"What-"

"Shhh!!!"

It wasn't working. He stood back with a sigh. Yoongi gave him a small smile, standing up from the bed to hug Jungkook.

"Were you trying to-"

"Yeah."

Yoongi tapped the side of his head. "Gotta clear your mind. Think really hard and be clear about what you want to project. Here." He reached for Jungkook's hand, taking it tightly. Jungkook closed his eyes and felt that familiar sensation of getting the wind knocked out of him as he was placed on a bench inside a school gym. There were a bunch of kids dressed out in gym clothes playing basketball.

"Hey Yoongi, did you see Jaehwa today? Wasn't she looking hot?" The kid sitting next to him asked with a grin. He looked to be about 12 or 13. Jungkook could immediately tell he was human. Funny, for some reason he assumed Yoongi would never interact with anyone human.

Jungkook realized he was once again Yoongi. It had been a while since he had done this.

Yoongi shrugged. "I guess. I don't understand that word, hot."

The kid rolled his eyes. "Are you serious? You’re the youngest in your family! You know my brother? He's almost 17 and he tells me all the things to look for in a girl. We're going to be really prepared for high school, man."

"Sure."

"Come on dude, you don't think any girls are hot? What are you, an alien?"

"Probably."

"Yoongi!" He whined, dragging out the syllables. Yoongi stared at the court at all the kids running back and forth passing the ball.

"Sorry man, I just don't have an interest in girls. I'm only 13. I don't know."

The kid sighed, slumping against the bleachers behind him. "What about guys? Do you have an interest in guys? Cause my mom says that's a sin if you do. But I'm not gonna tell her if you do."

Yoongi shrugged again. "Beats me. When the right person comes to me I'll worry about it. When I'm an adult and stuff."

The kid looked suspicious. "Are you gay, Yoongi?"

"I don't know."

"I won't tell anyone if you are."

"I. Don't. Know."

"Min! Get off the bleachers!" The gym teacher called from the other side of the gym. A kid tossed Yoongi the ball as he stood up, and the scene was disappearing back to the familiarity of Jungkook's whitewashed walls. He gasped for air, feeling comfort at Yoongi's hand on his back.

"You good?" He asked, to which Jungkook only nodded. "Sorry to put you in shock there. I'm not really sure why I showed you that memory. But yeah."

"Basketball, huh?" Jungkook responded. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood up straight, taking some of his weight off of Yoongi.

"It was just in gym class. I was pretty good at it, though. But then you know who came around, so."

"You stopped." Jungkook sighed. "Let me try again, okay? Please."

"You don't have to ask me to try, baby." Yoongi smiled. "Go for it."

So Jungkook closed his eyes and cleared his mind, just like Yoongi had told him. He thought of what particular memory he wanted to show him and went from there. And suddenly, they were both whisked into Jungkook's childhood home.

Jungkook knew Yoongi was seeing all of this from his eyes, but for Jungkook it was like he was a ghost or something watching from the sidelines. He remembered this night very vividly.

Tiny teenage Jungkook with side-swept dyed black bangs and piercings sat on the couch, hands in his lap as his parents glared at him from above.

"Arrested? Honestly, Jungkook? Honestly? It wasn't enough for you to just not do your homework and ditch school, or come home drunk or sneak out of the house, you had to get caught smoking? Drugs, Jungkook? Is that what you've resorted to?" His dad's voice was rough and loud. His mother was crying.

"We've done nothing but love and care for you baby, and this is what you're doing? Why are you acting out? Is it for attention?" Jungkook's mother's voice was laced thick with hysteria and hard to understand, but Jungkook understood all of it.

"You've always been disappointed in me without any reason. I've never been good enough for you. Nobody in this house, not even Junghyun, and it doesn't matter in the end. Nothing I do is ever going to matter. So I'm giving you reasons to hate me."

"You're ungrateful and selfish, Jungkook, and you have been your entire life. We should have left you in prison to rot forever. That's where you're going to end up you know. Too stupid for college, too stupid for a job, too stupid to find anybody to love. Nothing but a piece of shit."

Jungkook hung his head, focusing on picking dirt out of his fingernails. His father wasn't done.

Suddenly Jungkook was being hoisted up off of the couch and slammed against the wall, his father's fist making contact with his face. A horrible cracking sound rang out, earning a small sob from his mother. Jungkook struggled to get out of his dad's grasp, but he wasn't going anywhere. He got hit in the face again.

"You're worthless to our family, a pathetic excuse for a son. You're right Jungkook, you never were important. You're impractical, and a worthless piece of trash. This was the last straw. Get out of our house and never come back."

"Honey," his mother shouted, tugging on her husband's arm. Jungkook could see his older brother glancing around the corner of the dining room, fear in his eyes. "He's only a child, he has nowhere to go!"

"He’s 16, and if he thinks his lifestyle is perfect then he can get the fuck out of our house and never come back. You're nothing but a disappointment." He shoved Jungkook to the floor, kicking him in the stomach for good measure before turning to go into the kitchen. "If you're here in the morning, I'm calling the police."

Jungkook was crying. His mother was weeping but making no attempts to help her son. She only stared at him with disappointment in her eyes before following her husband through the kitchen door.

That was the night Jungkook filled a book bag with clothes and what little money he had earned from various odd jobs and took off into the city by bus. That was where he wandered into a bar, planning to get a beer, but instead discovered an operation that would not only earn him money for a living but get revenge on his parents. A "fuck you" moment. He changed his entire identity. Got another piercing, dyed his hair red, started working on his tattoo sleeve, and listened to every instruction given as he gained new scars and bruises and cuts.

That was the night Jungkook ruined his life.

Yoongi was staring intently at Jungkook once he brought them back to reality, eyes crinkled with worry. Jungkook was fine though. It was a while ago, and things were better now. Kind of. He wondered what his parents would say if he showed up ignited in flames.

"I'm so sorry," Yoongi finally murmured into the silence. Jungkook only shrugged.

"Thought you deserved to know a little about my life."

"Well uh, thank you. That means a lot."

"I don't blame my family, you know. I don't blame my dad for what he did. I understood that I was poison in my family's life. I was stupid and dumb and made a lot of bad choices. That was all on me."

"Hey, don't say that." He wrapped his arms around Jungkook, allowing him to bury his head in the crook of Yoongi's neck. "He shouldn't have hit you either way. That wasn't your fault. Did he hit you a lot?"

"No. That was the first time."

Yoongi sighed. "Teenagers make plenty of dumb decisions. Look at me."

"You had an excuse." Jungkook pushed out of Yoongi's grasp so he could look at him. "Besides, I've got a new family now."

"That's right. And we'll all take care of our precious fire boy."

Jungkook scowled. "I hate you."

"No, you don’t." Yoongi leaned in to kiss him. “How are you feeling by the way? It’s been a few days.”

“Sore, but at least I can sit down now. Man, it’s going to feel so good next time that Hobi teases me and I can-” Jungkook stopped talking. He could hear people outside the door.

“You hear that too I assume?” Yoongi paused, craning his neck to try and listen better. “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

Jungkook yanked open the door and let it bang against the wall to reveal Tae, Jimin, Hoseok, and Chae all crowded outside their room. Jungkook crossed his arms and frowned.

“Uhh...” Hoseok’s face turned bright red as he moved a few steps back. “I was just telling them not to crowd around your door and eavesdrop because that’s wrong! What the hell guys!”

“I was just walking by,” Chae argued, her face equally as red. “Nothing to see here.”

Tae rolled his eyes. “They were here first.” Jimin nodded.

“Okay, but what are you doing here?” Yoongi appeared next to Jungkook, looking just as upset. He waved his hand in a gesture for them to explain.

“We just wanted to know what was going on,” Hoseok started, eyes flickering between an unhappy Yoongi and an unamused Tae. “We were curious.”

“Cause you both left, and Hoseok said some stuff has been going on,” continued Chae.

“They just wanted to know if you were doing it.” Tae concluded, dragging a hand down his face. Jimin was grinning, and Jungkook was 99.9% sure he knew what he was thinking at the moment.

“Oh, guys,” Yoongi sighed, running a hand through his hair. “That’s fucked up.” Jungkook could feel himself increasing in temperature. But hey, he was going to stay calm about it, because he had to rub that in Hoseok’s face.

“Hey!” Hoseok threw his arms up in defense, “We just wanted to know, because Jungkook seemed to be doing okay, right? And-”

“Nope! Don’t explain.” Yoongi groaned loudly. “It’s still messed up.”

“Oh come on, we’re friends. You’d do that to us.”

“Are you stupid? I would never do that. Do you really think I stand outside your door waiting to see if I can hear you and Namjoon having sex? We’d be able to tell. You’d blow the lights out.”

Hoseok stuck out his tongue. “Ok, well Jungkook would start a fire.”

“Ha! He didn’t.” Yoongi immediately slapped a hand over his mouth at his slip up as Jungkook turned even redder. Let’s be real, he was never going to tell Hoseok.

Hoseok laughed loudly as everyone else broke out in smirks. “Oh my god! You guys totally slept together! Oh my god!”

“You happy now?”

Hoseok grasped the wall as he tried to catch his breath. “I gotta know. Who tops?”

“And you’re out. Goodbye.” Yoongi shoved Hoseok out the doorway, who was still laughing hysterically as he tripped over his feet and fell to the floor.

“Sorry boss,” Tae apologized as he scratched awkwardly behind his ear. He tugged on Jimin’s arm and they turned to leave. “But congrats.”

“Oh boy. I’m so touched.” Yoongi rolled his eyes. “Get out of here.” Tae waved and they turned the other way, Chae following them. She suddenly turned around and shouted “Sorry!” before running ahead of Tae and Jimin.

Which still left asshole Hoseok laughing on the floor.

“Jungkook?” Yoongi asked with a sly smile, but Jungkook was already two steps ahead. He let his hands explode into flames and casually leaned against the doorframe.

Hoseok stopped laughing. He swallowed loudly and backed away before using the wall to hoist himself up. “Sorry, I didn’t mean-”

And it hit Jungkook why Hoseok was so afraid. “Shit.” he let the flames go out. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking, Sorry. Fuck. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, God.” Yoongi smacked his forehead with his palm. “Sorry!”

“No. I went too far, that wasn't right of me.” Hoseok took a deep breath, deciding to change the subject. “Why don’t we do matches tonight? Jungkook can light torches and we’ll do it by candlelight.”

“That actually doesn’t sound too bad. You up for that, Jungkook?”

“Uh...” the last time they did sparring matches, Jungkook almost died. So...

“Yoongi isn’t going to kill you. Nobody is going to kill you.” Hoseok cocked his head to the side. “Can you even die?”

“Don’t talk about that.” Yoongi sighed audibly. “Jesus, do you even have a filter?”

“Nope.” He smiled cheekily. “‘Sides, you’re like us now. I mean, you’re practically as strong as Yeonjun, probably as fast as Jennie, and you can set fire to anything. You also have some combat training I’ve been told, right?” He looked to Yoongi for confirmation who nodded. “So there. You’ll beat someone for sure. Probably not me, but someone.”

Yoongi scoffed. “Don’t get cocky.”

“Eh, why not. Sure.” Jungkook agreed. Hoseok threw an arm around his shoulders in triumph.

“Rad. Love you, bro.”

“Sorry again. I forgot. I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

“I know you’d never hurt me purposely dude. It’s all good. Don’t dwell in the past.” he patted Jungkook’s back. “I’m going to go tell everyone. Oh, and let’s get pizza.”

“Tell Chae,” Yoongi instructed. He pulled Jungkook away from Hoseok and back towards the bedroom. “We’re busy.”

Hoseok raised an eyebrow and bit his lip, but nodded his head. “Have fun you lovebirds.” Then he skipped down the hallway singing loudly and off-key. Yoongi shook his head.

“He’s an idiot.”

Jungkook agreed.

\---

Later that night after a long makeout session that ended in something a little more heated, Jungkook and Yoongi joined the rest of the household in the sparring field. Jungkook had to adjust his shirt collar slightly as he traveled with Jin to light all the torches at the corners of the field. He hadn’t talked to Jin in a while.

At the first torch, Jungkook lit his hands, creating a blast of light. Everyone turned to look at him in shock; some looked impressed. He didn’t like everyone looking at him. Jungkook still didn’t like attention in general actually.

“He’s not a circus freak,” Yoongi yelled from the other side of the field, and the crowd filled with murmurs as everyone went back to their conversations. Jungkook mentally thanked Yoongi as he turned back towards Jin, who was holding the torch.

“You doing alright?” Jin seemed worried.

“I’m completely fine,” Jungkook assured him. As soon as the torch was lit, Jin stuck it back in the dirt and they moved to the next one. He was still staring curiously at Jungkook like he was debating on whether or not to believe him.

“You’re adapting alright? Feeling okay? I’ve been resisting the urge to dig around in your emotions, just in case.” Jin reached out to touch Jungkook, but he shrugged out of the way.

“Too hot,” he explained, raising a flame ignited fist. “You’ll burn yourself. But thanks. And yeah. Yoongi’s been helping me out, everything is fine, I promise.”

“Well good. I’m glad everything is okay. And that you’re okay. You seem to be learning quickly.” He held the torch so Jungkook could light it.

“Yeah, things have gotten better. And Yoongi and I are working. It was hard, trust me. It’s still hard. But knowing I have help is nice.”

“I’m here too if you need me. I’m always gonna be here.”

Jungkook smiled. “Yeah, I know.”

After they finished lighting all the torches, Jungkook took about five minutes and three failed attempts before he managed to put the flames out before once again joining the rest of the group. He was stretching when Chae appeared on top of one of the picnic tables balancing a stack of pizzas in her hands.

"I've got pizza!" She said with a grin, raising her arms slightly. The crowd cheered as the pizzas began being passed down to the tabletop and Chae climbed down. Everyone grabbed a few slices before sitting down and chatting. Jungkook stood awkwardly off to the side, waiting for everybody to move out of the way before he got dinner. To be honest, he was a little nervous he might roast his slice this time. And nobody ever wanted to ruin pizza.

Chae clasped Jungkook on the shoulder, jolting him back into reality with a startled jump. Jungkook sighed in annoyance once he realized who it was. Chae was grinning ear to ear as she took the largest bite she could muster.

"Hey, did you get dinner?" Chae asked once she swallowed and Jungkook shoved her away with a groan. He shook his head.

"Not yet, but I will. I'm just, uh, waiting." His eyes wandered over to the now mostly empty pizza boxes strewn across the table. There didn't seem to be much left. That's okay, he wasn't very hungry anyway.

"Whatcha waiting for?"

"Everyone to uh, be finished I guess." Even though everyone was already done getting their food.

"Hey man? I know I haven't really talked to you about you know, how things are and stuff, but I'm really glad you're okay. I'm really glad you're here, and that I left the door unlocked that day. I really think you've changed a lot of lives here. And I'm really glad we're friends."

Jungkook could feel his face turning red. He didn't think he had done anything influential since coming here, but it was nice to know someone thought of him that way. "Thanks, Chae. That means a lot."

"And if it means anything, I really think your powers are cool." She grinned. "And Yoongi. You guys complement one another. Soulmates for sure."

"You think so?" Yoongi appeared next to them, two slices of pizza stacked on top of each other in one hand. He gave them to Jungkook. "Thought you might be hungry."

"Thanks." Jungkook took a bite, sighing with pleasure because pizza was always so damn good no matter what, and it had been a while since he had it. He ate as Chae answered.

"Totally. He helped you, you're helping him, you know what he's thinking, and vice versa. You don't see stuff like that very often. It's like a once in a lifetime thing. You're good for each other."

"Thanks, Chae. That means a lot. And thanks for never giving up on me. You were always there, and I know it was hard sometimes."

"I'm just glad you're doing okay. I knew you could pull through. You're a strong fellow." Chae winked before jabbing a thumb over to where Jimin, Tae, Namjoon, and Hoseok were gathered in a circle. "I'm gonna go see what's up. Take care man!"

"You too," Yoongi fumbled over his words, his voice getting carried away in the slight breeze as Chae darted between people to get to her group. He looked over at Jungkook, who currently had a mouthful of cheese and pepperoni. "That's hot," Yoongi started laughing as Jungkook ducked his head to avoid having everything fall out of his mouth. Once he swallowed, Jungkook wiped his mouth and turned back around.

"I try."

"Oh yeah. I can tell." He leaned forward to kiss Jungkook's cheek before briefly nuzzling his head in his shoulder. "I gotta do something really fast. You sure you're okay with doing the games?"

"I'm sure. I'm okay with it, I promise."

Yoongi looked unconvinced. "If at any time you need to stop, just call game okay? No one's going to make fun of you for it. We all understand."

Jungkook wanted to roll his eyes, but he knew Yoongi was really worried about him. So instead, he gave him a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I got it."

Yoongi squeezed his hand before heading towards the rest of the crowd. Jungkook leaned against one of the picnic tables, eyes scanning to see who he might be put up against. Hoseok would probably land him in the hospital, he wasn't sure if he could hit Chaewon and not feel guilty about it, Chae would be a little shit... The only person he felt he really could fight was Yoongi. Would that be lame?

"Hey everyone?" Jungkook was surprised to see that Yoongi was standing on one of the picnic tables, the fire casting shadows on half of his face. He ran a gloved hand through his hair, turning it into a mussed mess. Jungkook swallowed as his eyes met Yoongi's for a split second.

The crowd gathered tightly around the table in curiosity as to what Yoongi, of all people, would say. Everyone was mostly finished eating; would he be the one announcing the games?

"I just wanted to say a few words." Yoongi looked around the crowd, smiling slightly at all the people looking back at him. His family. And Jungkook, standing in the back with his arms crossed. He took a deep breath.

"This place, it's been around a long time. It was created to be an escape away from fear and judgment, but it became so much more. It became the place we called home. Each of us, we have our problems. But we've all brought one another up, helped each other out, made things better. And I know I haven't always been there for you guys, but you still believed in me, and I can't thank you enough for that. It doesn't matter if you've been here since the beginning," he gestured to Tae and Jimin, both of who were beaming, "or you're new," his attention turned towards Jungeun, who had her arms strung over Jinsol’s shoulders, "we're a family. We can get through everything that's thrown our way, inside and out. Together."

He grinned, satisfied with his words.

"Love you, Yoongi!" Hoseok shouted out from the back, his arm slung around Namjoon's shoulders. Yoongi rolled his eyes.

"Love you too." Yoongi climbed down, letting everyone pat him on the back and tell him what they felt needed to be said. Jungkook hung back, waiting when he suddenly felt an arm slide across his shoulders.

Taehyung.

"Hey man. How are you doing?" His voice was kind, eyes crinkling at the corners. Tae was genuinely happy. Jungkook hadn't seen that since coming here.

"I'm doing good. How are you doing?"

Tae sighed happily, his eyes wandering over to Jimin across the way. He was currently listening to Chae tell a story with a lot of movement. "You know what Jungkook? For the first time in a long time, I'm doing better than fine. I'm happy. We're happy, Jimin and I. We have a much deeper emotional connection now, and that, well, it's just nice, you know?"

"That's really good. I'm really happy for you, Tae." And he was. Tae had ended up being one of his closest friends, and to someone who felt he never really had any close friends, that was important to Jungkook.

"I know at the beginning I was the biggest asshole there ever was, but I'm really glad to have met you, man. You did a lot for Jimin and me, and I can't thank you enough for all you did for Yoongi. You changed his life so much, and I don't even want to think where he'd be if it wasn't for you. I've known that guy for a long time, and not even I could help him. So thank you, for everything."

"Oh uh..." Jungkook was turning red. "Thank you. I just, you know, accidentally walked in. Thought he was cute. So."

Tae laughed loudly. "Well, it sure is a good thing you thought he was cute."

"Yeah." He rubbed his neck awkwardly, not knowing what to say in situations like this. He let out a breath in relief when Yoongi jumped on the both of them with a loud yell.

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Sex," Tae deadpanned, and Jungkook turned redder. Yoongi laughed mockingly.

"Yeah, okay. Really, what are you talking about?"

Tae raised an eyebrow but didn't reply. He only patted Jungkook on the back and leaned in to whisper "get some tonight, bro," before scattering back to Jimin. Jungkook shook his head, but a small grin still made its way onto his face.

Yoongi narrowed his eyes. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Sex," Jungkook shrugged, still smiling. Yoongi scoffed.

"You versus me tonight."

"I was planning on that. But we all know who's going to win." For some reason, Jungkook felt like being cocky.

"Oh, poor baby. You think you actually stand a chance." Yoongi leaned in, gently resting his fingertips on Jungkook's jaw, teasing him. "Don't forget who taught you everything you know." Yoongi’s breath was warm on Jungkook's face, and he wanted nothing more than to close the gap. But if Jungkook did that, he'd be giving in and that was exactly what Yoongi wanted. So he couldn't, no matter how pretty and inviting Yoongi's godforsaken lips looked.

"If I win," Jungkook started, and he couldn't believe he was about to say this, "You gotta blow me."

"Please. That's never going to happen. So when I win, I'm going to torture you." He leaned in closer until their lips were barely touching. "I'm going to bring you to the edge, and you won't be able to cross over. You're going to beg and plead," Yoongi began trailing his fingers up Jungkook's arm, his voice dropping into a seductive husky tone, "and I'm not going to give it to you."

"Good thing you're not going to win." Jungkook swallowed, closing his eyes to avoid Yoongi's smokey smirk. He didn't need to get a boner right before he was going to be expected to move around. That would be horrible.

Yoongi laughed softly, finally closing the gap between them. His hand slid to Jungkook's ass as he kissed leisurely.

Then he was pulling away right as Jungkook went to deepen it.

"You son of a bitch," Jungkook muttered at Yoongi's smug expression. Yoongi only shrugged.

"Sorry, Jungkook, but you're not going to win." Then he was flaunting away, leaving Jungkook to get over the fact that yeah, he was probably going to lose.

Five minutes later Chae was standing in the middle of the field and shooing everyone to the edges. It was time. Oh god, it was time.

"Alright!" Chae shouted, looking all around at everyone around her. "We're starting. Any bets that need to be settled?"

"Right here!" Tae called out, pointing over to Yoongi, who was standing across the field, opposite of Jungkook. He sighed. Had Yoongi really told him about that?

"Sweet! Then Min Yoongi and Jeon Jungkook, you are up!"

The crowd broke out into applause and whistles as the two took their corners. Yoongi rolled his sleeves up as Chae explained the rules everyone already knew. Instead of listening, Jungkook was focusing on strategies and the fact that Yoongi looked really fucking hot.

_ You ready? _

That was Yoongi. In his head. Fuck.

Jungkook nodded, clenching his fists with a smirk as they burst into flames. Yoongi's eyes shifted over to their infamous gleaming gold and his hair to it’s shining blonde. 

Chae raised a hand. "Fight!"

A new life with new friends and a new family. A new life with the person he loved.

Fight.


	24. epilogue

“Guess who," Jungkook teased as he slid his hands over Yoongi's eyes. Yoongi fumbled forward at the sudden lack of sight, his hands reaching out to touch Jungkook's. They were abnormally warm.

"What are you doing?" Yoongi was suspicious. When Jungkook got too warm, something was up. Yoongi hadn't seen Jungkook all day; Jungkook had been out with Jimin and Taehyung doing who knows what. Yoongi wasn't allowed to come, so he sat in Jungkook's room pouting the whole time. In fact, besides this morning at breakfast, this was the first time Yoongi had seen Jungkook.

"Why were you in here anyway? I thought you'd be downstairs or sulking somewhere." Jungkook moved his hands away, sliding them down Yoongi's arms. 

Yoongi let out a groan and flopped onto the bed away from Jungkook's touch. "I have been sulking. In here. All-day. Because you left me. 'Cause, you're a jerk."

"I'm not a jerk. Would a jerk have a surprise for you?"

Yoongi sat up, eyes narrowing at Jungkook's smirk. He folded his arms across his chest. "That depends on what the surprise is."

"Wouldn't be a surprise if I told you what it was, now would it?"

"Jungkooooookah!" Yoongi groaned again, pressing a hand against his forehead. Jungkook rolled his eyes. He leaned over to quickly kiss Yoongi on the cheek before hoisting him up by one arm. Yoongi was still grumbling as Jungkook slid his hands back over his eyes. "I forgot how strong you actually are."

"Did I hurt you?" Jungkook loosened his touch, voice thick was worry. Yoongi shook his head.

"No, I just forgot. Where are we going?"

Jungkook sighed with relief. He started nudging Yoongi towards the door, pulling it open with his foot and shifting Yoongi towards the stairs.

"Surprise," Jungkook stated, but Yoongi could figure it out now.

"My room? What, are you planning on having-"

"No," Jungkook swiftly cut him off, stumbling on the stairs which sent Yoongi slipping himself. Jungkook steadied the two of them and took a deep breath. "You good?"

"You're a dork."

"Shut up." Jungkook helped him the rest of the way down the stairs before sliding his arm over Yoongi's eyes and using his other to open the metal door. The minute he had it propped open, his hands returned to their normal position.

"Did Tae and Jimin play a role in this surprise? Did you decorate my bedroom in rose petals and condoms?"

"Will you shut up?"

"I'm just curious. Can't I guess?"

"Your guesses are terrible."

"Does it have anything to do with sex?"

"No Yoongi, it had nothing to do with sex. Stop guessing. You're being annoying."

"Jeez, I'm so sorry." Yoongi scoffed in mock hurt, placing a hand on his chest. Jungkook stopped moving. Yoongi heard him take a deep breath.

"Okay, on the count of three you can look." Yoongi nodded under Jungkook's palms. "One, two... Two and a half, two and three quarters..."

"Jeon Jungkook, if you don't stop it right now I'll-"

"Three," Jungkook finished with a grin. He pulled his hands away and jammed them in his pockets as Yoongi blinked.

In front of him stood a real black piano, complete with a shiny finish. It even had a giant red bow on top.

Yoongi opened his mouth to speak, but no sound was coming out. His eyes were wide as he rested his fingertips on the white keys.

"Do you like it?" Jungkook asked, leaning forward to see Yoongi's expression. Yoongi was still mesmerized by the fact there was a piano in his room now. A real-life piano. He couldn't even remember the last time he had seen a piano.

Instead of answering, Yoongi swung around and slid his hand behind Jungkook's neck, kissing him as hard as he could muster. Jungkook was chuckling at Yoongi's reaction, but of course, he kissed back.

"I assume you like it then?" They rested their foreheads together, Yoongi picking a loose thread off Jungkook's shirt.

"I love it. I love you. Oh my god." Yoongi laughed loudly, his cheeks tinted pink. Jungkook couldn't help but smile at how happy Yoongi was.

"Do you remember anything?"

Yoongi pulled away, his attention going back to the keys. He placed his hands in what was hopefully a chord he thought he remembered. It had been awhile.

"I'm not sure. Maybe." Yoongi pressed down, sighing happily at the right sound that rang out. That was it. That was a C chord, and it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

"That sounds good."

"It's not a hard chord, but I can't believe I remembered that." He shifted his fingers up, resting them on a combination of white and black keys. Yoongi cheered again as he successfully played another chord. Then another and another, and suddenly the memory of Beethoven came flooding back to him. Jungkook watched, impressed as Yoongi's hands flew across the keys.

Like he had been playing his whole life.

They were both quiet for a few minutes after Yoongi finished, letting the last notes ring out and hang over them like a rain cloud. Yoongi couldn't contain his excitement, no matter how hard he tried.

"Thank you Jungkook, thank you so much. I can't believe you did this. I love it. I love it so much. I love you so much." He wrapped his arms around Jungkook's waist and buried his face into his shoulder. Jungkook hugged back tightly, kissing the top of his head.

"I love you too. I'm so happy you liked it. Tae and Jimin said you might hate it but-mmph!" Yoongi shut Jungkook up by kissing him again, eyelids fluttering as Jungkook melted against him. Jungkook thought the idol versions of themselves, somewhere in that alternate universe, would be proud of them. Never in a million years did Jungkook think he would be this happy. He wouldn't have believed anyone that said it. Yoongi was grinning against his mouth, eyelashes against Jungkook's cheek and skin tinged pink.

"I love it."

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! I am so glad this one is finally out into the world. I really feel like this story was made for yoonkook and I am so glad that people get to read it as their story. I hope you all liked it!


End file.
